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Mark Tanner

Georgia School Shooting Leaves Community in Shock

By Mark Tanner


On Sept. 4, tragedy struck the state of Georgia and all schools everywhere when a 14-year-old boy killed two students and two teachers at Apalache High School in the deadliest school shooting in Georgia's history.

Mourners visit a makeshift memorial at the flagpole at Apalachee High School on Sept. 6, 2024, in Winder, Georgia. A 14-year-old Apalachee student is accused of shooting and killing two fellow students and two teachers and injuring nine others at Apalachee High School. (Jason Getz/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS)

The boy who was a student at the high school made his first court appearance on Thursday, Sept. 5. His father was also arrested that day and charged with second-degree murder. Both father and son will remain in jail. The father gave his son the weapon used in the shooting despite potentially knowing that he was a threat to others.


Shortly after 10:00 AM, the gunshots took place. According to arrest warrants the boy used an AR-15-style rifle and the killings happened within minutes. The suspect surrendered to school officers and was taken into custody. The school immediately went into lockdown with locked doors and a newly installed alarm system.


The students who died were Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. the educators were Richard Aspinwall and Cristina Irimie. At least nine other people were injured in the shooting. Law enforcement says that the people who have been taken to the hospital are expected to make a full recovery.


Law enforcement found evidence that the boy was interested in mass shootings, particularly the one in 2018 at Parkland, FL. His relatives said he had a troubled home life. His grandfather, Charlie Polhamus, blames both the boy and his father. "My grandson did what he did because of the environment that he lived in," said Charlie. The boy also made a threat in Discord in May of last year to shoot up a middle school.


More news has been slowly coming out as the investigation continues.


Columbus Reaction

Mr. David Pugh, principal of Christopher Columbus High School noted school shootings are things that stay on his mind.

"Its devastating, truly one of those things that keep you as an an aministrator up at night. It's tragic for any community to go through, and it's definitely difficult here." said Mr.Pugh

Mr. Pugh said, though, that Columbus stays ahead of preparedness.

"We prepare ourselves and train. We have the FBI train with our teachers, have the SWAT team come every year and a police officer on duty every day. This is why we emphasize family sprit and the culture of respect. It's a mental health issue and a gun issue. If we can solve the mental health issue, we can prevent it even more. The culture we have is intentional to prevent violence all together," said Mr. Pugh

Students saw the news and noted how unnerving it can be.

"Honestly, hearing about Georgia terrifed me. Knowing that something like this could happen to any school is extremely unsettlingm" said Maximus Barrenechea.

And Max feels the preparedness of Columbus.

"I do feel safe because I belive Columbus has lots of plans in place to prevent something this horrid from happening to us," said Barrenechea.

Writer's Note

I feel like we can prevent this by giving everyone respect. A little goes a long way. I give my deepest condolences to the families whose children were in this terrible situation and to those who lost a loved one.

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I feel so bad for these families. They will definitely be in my thoughts and prayers. It is terrible how such things could happen, Rest in peace Mason Schermerhornn and Christian Angulo.

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