Four people died and nine were seriously injured in a shooting at a high school in the southeastern US state of Georgia, local authorities announced on Wednesday, September 4. “Four dead. Nine more people were sent to various hospitals with injuries. The suspect is in custody and alive”they said in a social media post.
Multiple emergency vehicles and a large police force were dispatched to the scene at Apalachee High School in the town of Winder, some 70 kilometers northeast of Atlanta. According to CNN, the shooter is believed to be a 14-year-old boy.
“We cannot accept that this becomes the norm”President Joe Biden said in a statement, again calling for a ban on assault rifles. “I am heartbroken for the families who have been affected by this terrible tragedy.”declared for his part the American Minister of Justice Merrik Garland, during a press conference, without mentioning a toll. President Joe Biden is being kept informed of the evolution of the situation, the White House announced.
Confinement of students and resounding cries
The school was initially placed on lockdown, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. The injured were being treated at the scene by emergency workers, the network said, based on its helicopter footage. Students were later evacuated from the school or gathered at a sports field, according to other aerial footage released by media outlets.
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Local, state and federal police officers are working, authorities said. “My teacher opened the door [de la classe] to see what was happening. Another teacher then came running and told him to close the door because there was a shooter.”said a 17-year-old student, Sergio Caldera, quoted by ABC. With the door locked, he and his classmates then took refuge at the back of the room, from where they heard screams echoing outside.
The United States is the only developed country in the world to regularly suffer from school shootings, a scourge fueled by the spread of individual weapons. In May 2022, 19 children and two teachers were victims of a horrific massacre in their school in Uvalde, Texas, committed by an 18-year-old boy using a legally purchased assault rifle.
US President Joe Biden has continued to denounce the” epidemic “ gun violence and regularly urges Congress to act.
