September 5, 2024
14-Year-Old Autistic Student Identified As 1 Of 4 Victims In Horrific Georgia School Shooting
Rest In Peace to these innocent victims....
One of four victims in the Georgia high school shooting has been identified as a 14-year-old autistic student, Mason Schermerhorn, The New York Post reported.
Schermerhorn’s family made desperate pleas on social media, hoping to be reunited with their loved one, after they couldn’t reach him following the shooting in Winder. “If he is escalated, PLEASE use a calm voice with him,” family members said online. “Let him know his mom is looking for him for reassurance.”
It was later that the family found out the student was one of the victims of the shooting that occurred at Apalachee High School on Sep. 4. Schermerhorn, another 14-year-old student identified as Christian Angulo and two math teachers, Richard Aspinwall, and Christina Irimie, were allegedly gunned down by 14-year-old suspect, Colt Gray.
A friend of Schermerhorn’s mother, Doug Kilburn, said the teen loved spending time with his family, playing video games, telling jokes, and taking trips to Disney World. “He really enjoyed life,” Kilburn said. “He always had an upbeat attitude about everything.”
Nine other people, including special education teacher David Phenix and eight students, were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said all are expected to survive. During a press conference, law officials said Gray allegedly opened fire with an AR-15-style gun inside the school around 10:30 a.m.
According to FOX 5, officers responded within minutes of a call and almost immediately encountered Gray, who dropped his weapon and surrendered. “Obviously, the shooter was armed, and our school resource officer engaged him, and the shooter quickly realized that if he did not give up, that it would end with an OIS — an officer-involved shooting,” Smith said.
After the suspect was interviewed immediately, the sheriff said connections between the student and the victims have not been identified, but they are looking into all aspects surrounding the incident.
A video from a student’s point of view inside the school has gone viral on social media, showing the moment when law enforcement arrived to get surviving students to safety. The school was cleared by 11:30 a.m., and students were released to their families. Neighboring school, Winder-Barrow High, was also briefly placed on lockdown as a precaution.
The gunman has allegedly been on the FBI’s radar since 2023 after he was investigated for making online threats to shoot up a school. Gray and his father were interviewed after the federal agency received a number of tips about threats, including photos of guns, in May 2023. At the time, law enforcement said they did not have probable cause to arrest the teenager or take further action.
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