ATLANTA– There are still many unanswered questions about last week’s Georgia school shooting, including how the suspect brought a semi-automatic assault rifle onto the campus of Apalachee High School and what the possible motivation for the violence might have been.
Two teachers and two students were killed in Wednesday’s shooting in Winder, northeast of Atlanta. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, seven of whom were hit by gunfire.
Colt Gray, 14, is charged as an adult with four counts of murder, and U.S. Attorney Brad Smith has said he likely will face more charges in connection with the injuries. Authorities also have charged his father, Colin Gray, with giving his son access to the gun when he knew or should have known the teen was a danger to himself and others.
Meanwhile, families are mourning the victims, including teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14.
The 13,000 students in Barrow County’s other schools are scheduled to return to class Tuesday. Officials have not yet announced a restart date for the 1,900 students who attend Apalachee.
Superintendent Dallas LeDuff said in a video message Sunday that sheriff’s deputies and state troopers will provide extra security when schools reopen Tuesday, and that extra guidance will be available on all campuses.
Below is a timeline of what happened the day of the attack, based on statements from authorities and reporting from The Associated Press and other news outlets:
8:15 a.m. — First period begins. Officials have not said what class Colt Gray was scheduled for or whether he was present. It is also unclear how Gray got to school that morning or whether he had the gun with him.
09:38 — First period ends. Students have seven minutes to transition to their next class.
9:45 a.m. — Second period begins. Student Lyela Sayarath said she saw Gray briefly in algebra class, where the two were sitting next to each other. But Gray left the room. Sayarath said she assumed Gray was skipping class, but it’s unclear where he went.
9:50 a.m. — Marcee Gray, Colt’s mother, calls the high school from 200 miles away in Fitzgerald, Georgia, to warn that her son is having an “extreme emergency,” according to call logs, text messages and an interview with The Washington Post by Gray’s aunt, Annie Brown. Brown later confirmed the story to the AP but declined to comment further.
Brown said the mother texted her saying she had spoken to a school counselor and urged them to find her son “immediately” to check on him. Call logs show the conversation lasted until 10 a.m. Relatives of Marcee Gray have told multiple outlets that she received a text from her son that morning saying he was sorry, but did not say what he was apologizing for.
09:45 to 10:20 — An administrator comes to the algebra room looking for a student with the same last name and a similar first name as Colt Gray, Sayarath said. The other student is in the bathroom, she said, but the administrator takes the other student’s bag. When the other student returns, he tells Sayarath that the administrator was actually looking for Colt Gray. In the meantime, the teacher is called over the intercom, Sayarath said.
About 10:20 a.m. — Colt Gray approaches the algebra classroom door. As the intercom buzzes again, the teacher responds, “Oh, he’s here,” seeing Gray outside the classroom door, Sayarath said. When students tried to open the door, which automatically locks from the inside when closed, Sayarath said they backed away. She said she saw Colt Gray turn away through the window of the door and then heard 10 or 15 consecutive gunshots. People are shot in the hallway and in at least one classroom, while others in the hallways try to get to safety. Some students say the three teachers are shot while trying to protect students.
10:23 a.m. — After multiple employees press wireless panic buttons embedded in their employee badges, the school goes on lockdown and a massive law enforcement presence begins. Students in other classrooms, hearing the gunshots, begin texting and calling their parents and others.
10:26 a.m. — Two school resource officers assigned to Apalachee High School approach Gray in the hallway, GBI Director Chris Hosey said. Gray immediately surrenders and is taken into custody.
About 11 a.m. — Police officers begin searching the home of Colin and Colt Gray east of Winder. At the school, officers move from classroom to classroom, first looking for more people with injuries or other shooters. Later, officers evacuate students to the football field as hundreds of parents rush to the campus.
Around 1:00 p.m. — The school begins handing students over to their parents so they can take them home.