Apalachee school shooting: Students return to class for first time

Students have headed back to the classroom at Apalachee High School on Tuesday for the first since a deadly shooting nearly three weeks ago.

Students will ease back into the routine of going to school for half-days until Oct. 4. When they return from Fall Break on Oct. 14, they’ll be back in the classroom full-time.

School will start at 8:15 a.m. and students will be dismissed at 12:40 p.m.

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On Monday, students and parents stepped foot back in the building for the first time since the deadly attack.

District officials hosted an open house that allowed students to reconnect with their teachers and to tour Chee East, the temporary secondary building while a portion of Apalachee High School remains closed.

Social studies classes will be moved to Chee East, a nearby Barrow County School System building. Students will be bussed to and from the location for their classes until classroom pods arrive in January.

Extra law enforcement officers, more counselors, therapy dogs and other mental health resources will be on hand as students arrive on Tuesday morning.

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Wednesday will mark three weeks since the Georgia Bureau of Investigation says 14-year-old Colt Gray walked into Apalachee High School and opened fire, killing two teachers and two fellow students. Nine others were wounded and sent to the hospital.

Math teachers Ricky Aspinwall and Cristina Irimie and 14-year-old students Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn lost their lives in the Sept. 4 shooting.

Colt Gray is charged with four counts of felony murder for each of their deaths.

The alleged school shooter’s father, Colin Gray , was also arrested the day of shooting. He is charged with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children.

The GBI says that Colt Gray was investigated, but not arrested in May 2023 for threats against a school in nearby Jackson County, where he and his father lived at the time.

They also say that the assault-style rifle used in the attack was gifted to Colt Gray by his father for Christmas, just a few months after being investigated for making threats.

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