Apalachee school shooting: Students, teachers return to classrooms

WINDER, Ga. — Three weeks after a gunman opened fire in a Georgia high school, students and teachers are returning to the school for class for the first time.

Four people were killed — two students and two teachers — when police said 14-year-old Colt Gray started shooting. The students were Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn and the teachers were math instructors Richard Aspin Wall and Cristina Irimie. Nine others were wounded on Sept. 4.

School was scheduled for a half day on Tuesday, officially starting at 8:15 a.m. with students being dismissed at 12:40 p.m. to allow them to ease into the routine. The half days will continue until Oct. 4. Then the district will be on fall break, with full-day learning beginning on Oct. 14, WSB reported.

The Apalachee High School community came out on Monday as the district hosted an open house to allow students to see their teachers and tour the temporary building that will serve students while a portion of the high school — J Hall — remains closed.

Social studies classes will be held in that building until classroom pods arrive on site in January, WSB reported.

“Today is a huge step for us healing in this building behind us,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said on Monday, CNN reported. “There are safety measures in place and just because you don’t see them, doesn’t mean they aren’t there,”

“We know this isn’t easy,” Barrow County superintendent Dallas LeDuff said in a news release, according to CNN. “We are all still navigating our way through adversity and emotions we may never fully understand. The safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our top priority. We are committed to holding discussions with our community and safety experts about additional layers of security.”

Apalachee student Sasha Conteras told WSB, “My peers and my friends, it’s traumatic.”

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