Networks focused coverage throughout the afternoon today on the latest school shooting, this time in Winder, GA, where a 14-year-old is in custody. Officials said that two students and two teachers were killed, and nine are in local hospitals.
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Colt Gray, a student at the school, Apalachee High School, will be charged with murder and tried as an adult, Chris Hosey of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation told reporters.
Authorities received a call at about 10:20 a.m. ET about reports of an active shooter and law enforcement was on the scene within minutes, Hosey said. Two school resource officers encountered the shooter soon after the report went out, he said, and once officers encountered Gray, he immediately surrendered.
“The priority right now for us within this investigation is to gather all the facts, and make sure we’re accurate with it, because this is a murder investigation,” he said.
Broadcast networks went with special reports in the noon ET hour, with Norah O’Donnell anchoring for CBS News at 12:41 p.m. ET, with Jared Eggleston on the scene. NBC News’ Lester Holt anchored a special report at 12:15 p.m. ET and then another at 1:18 p.m. ET for a press conference. Diane Macedo anchored during the hour on ABC News. Cable news networks stayed on the story throughout the day, with images of students seeking safety at the school’s football stadium.
The aftermath of a mass shooting typically has put the issue atop of the agenda for politicians and lawmakers, only to recede.
But Vice President Kamala Harris cited the epidemic of gun violence in her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention last month.
She also addressed the shootings at a campaign appearance in New Hampshire today, telling a rally that “our hearts are with all the students and the teachers and their families, of course, and we are grateful to law enforcement and responders that were on the scene. But this is just a senseless tragedy.”
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She added, “Our kids are sitting in a classroom where they should be fulfilling their God-given potential, and some part of their big beautiful brain is concerned about a shooter busting through the door of a classroom. It does not have to be this way.”
Later, Donald Trump posted a message on his social media platform, Truth Social. “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.” Earlier this year, in a speech to the National Rifle Association, Trump vowed to roll back Biden administration gun safety measures, which include bipartisan legislation the president signed in the wake of the school shooting in Uvalde, TX, in 2022. Trump’s position did not change after the assassination attempt on his life in July.
President Joe Biden called the shootings “another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart. Students across the country are learning how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We cannot continue to accept this as normal.” He again called for Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and to enact a series of other measures including universal background checks and an end to immunity for gun manufacturers.
Correspondents gathered reports of the terrifying scenes from witnesses. Sherley Martinez, a senior, told ABC News’ Faith Abubéy that once they heard gunshots “we all shook to the corner and somebody closed the door…We started stacking up tables” to barricade the door. Then an announcement came on the public address system that there was a lockdown due to an intruder.
“Kids started crying. Kids started freaking out,” Martinez said.
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