Thursday, September 5

Warning: This article contains sensitive content that may be unfit for young readers.

4 people were killed in a major mass shooting at a high school in Georgia yesterday, making it the worst-ever mass shooting in the state's history.

Around 10:20 in the morning, fire departments and local police received reports of a shooting taking place at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, and rushed to the scene. Winder is located between the cities of Atlanta and Athens, around 50 miles northeast of Atlanta and 25 miles west of Athens. A young shooter had entered the building with a gun and opened fire, killing two students and two teachers. It is the worst mass shooting in Georgia's history.

14-year-old Colt Gray was found to the shooter, and he is now in custody. An investigation is ongoing into how he obtained his weapon, an AR-15 assault rifle, how he got into the building with the weapon, and how he planned the attack. Preliminary reports have also found vague online threats connected to Gray that were about committing a school shooting, and the threats included images of guns. However, in an interview conducted by the FBI, he denied making the threats, while his father admitted that they had hunting rifles at home, he confirmed that Gray did not have unsupervised access to them.

Immediately after the shooter entered the building, the school was put on lockdown, and the initial notions of a drill soon became those of fear and panic. One student, Lyela Sayarath, reported that Gray, who was in their math class, unexpectedly left the classroom at the beginning of the class. When he knocked on their door, which had locked automatically, to get back in, a girl went to open it before realizing that the boy standing outside had a gun in his hand. As she walked away, he moved onto the next classroom, whose door was open, and opened fire on the children and teachers inside.

Police arrived on the scene and quickly found Gray, who surrendered quickly. Neighbors quickly set up a stand with some snacks like water, sports drinks, applesauce, crackers, and granola bars, as most of the students had not eaten since breakfast and some students had even skipped breakfast that morning. All students were soon evacuated out of the building, and multiple people were taken away in ambulances. Four people were confirmed to be dead-- two 14-year-olds and two teachers.

Nine other victims were hospitalized after the incident, but they are all expected to survive after being hit by shots from the shooter's AR-15 rifle. Numerous other students are being treated for trauma after the frightening experience. Gray will be charged with murder, and in a first-of-its-kind event, he will be tried as an adult despite being 14 years of age.

According to CNN, this is the 45th mass shooting to take place in 2024-- gun violence has continued to ramp up over the past few years. Calls to ban assault-style rifles, like the AR-15 used in yesterday's shooting, are increasing, as they are the choice weapon for shooters. Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for the US elections in November, gave a statement, along with several other White House officials, on the shooting, calling it "outrageous" and a "senseless tragedy."

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): John Quincy Adams, the 6th president of the United States, actually considered funding an expedition to the center of the Earth.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Change the changeable, accept the unchangeable, and remove yourself from the unacceptable. (Denis Waitley)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Esconce (verb)- Someone or something ensconced is firmly placed or hidden. Ensconce can be a synonym of shelter and conceal, or of establish and settle.

In a Sentence: The sculpture is safely ensconced behind glass.