Sheriff Jud Smith of Barrow County has reacted with horror to the shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia, calling the event an act of ‘pure evil.’
Authorities identified Colt Gray, a 14-year-old student at the school, as the shooter who killed two students and two teachers.
Nine victims were taken to hospitals with gunshot injuries, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
‘My heart hurts for these kids, my heart hurts for this community, but I want to make it very clear that hate will not prevail in this county,’ Sheriff Smith during a press conference on Wednesday.
‘Love will prevail over what happened today, I assure you of that.’
Smith said he was born and raised in the county and was once a student in the Barrow County School System, which includes Apalachee High School.
‘My kids go to this school system. I’m proud of this school system,’ he said.
The high school, which is home to around 1,900 students, is in the town of Winder, about 25 miles west of Athens.
Smith didn’t speculate on the motive of the shooter, nor did he mention him by name in his short address to the media.
It’s been revealed that Gray will be charged with murder and will be tried as an adult.
‘I don’t know why it happened. I may not ever know. We may not ever know, but I ask that you and our community lift up our schools, lift up our public safety and that again we do not let this hateful event prevail.’
He thanked Georgia Governor Brian Kemp for offering support, as well as the myriad of state, local and federal agencies that helped in the response to the shooting.
‘They prevented a lot more tragic events from happening,’ he said.
Smith also confirmed that the school resource officer engaged with the shooter, who eventually surrendered to police.
‘The shooter quickly realized that if he did not give up that it would end with an OIS, or an officer-involved-shooting. He gave up, got on the ground and the deputy took him into custody,’ he said.
Smith repeatedly said the investigation was in its early stages, and wasn’t able to answer a question about how the shooter obtained his gun, nor did he identify the type of weapon he used.
He added that authorities don’t know that Gray had any specific targets. He also didn’t confirm whether Gray had a connection to any of the victims.
More information should come to light soon though, as Smith revealed that the shooter has been interviewed by police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
So far, the only victim that has been identified is special education math teacher David Phenix, who survived but was rushed to hospital after being shot in the hip and foot.
Phenix’s daughter, Katie, revealed on Wednesday that he ‘arrived to the hospital alert and awake’ and was rushed straight into surgery.
‘He just got out of surgery and is stable,’ she said.
Phenix, who has been a teacher for 22 years, had intended to retire in 2023 but decided to stay when offered the chance to coach golf.
Before the sheriff’s office received the first reports of a shooting at around 10:20am ET, the high school received a threat via phone, CNN reported.
The caller reportedly claimed there would be shootings at five schools and that Apalachee would be first.
Authorities said there were no other shootings besides the one at Apalachee and will investigate the source of this call.
Governor Kemp said he was ‘heartbroken’ by the shooting, adding that his office will ‘continue to work closely with local, state and federal partners to make any and all resources available to help this community on this incredibly difficult day and the days to come.’
The candidates for president have also addressed the heinous crime, with Vice President Kamala Harris calling it a ‘senseless tragedy.’
‘We have to end this epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all. It doesn’t have to be this way,’ she added.
Former President Donald Trump called the shooter a ‘deranged monster.’
‘Our hearts are with the victims and loved ones of those affected by the tragic event in Winder, GA. These cherished children were taken from us far too soon by a sick and deranged monster,’ he wrote on Truth Social.