An Apalachee High School junior who was sitting next to shooter Colt Gray has revealed the gunman’s chilling behavior moments before he opened fire — and how she and her classmates narrowly escaped death.
Lyela Sayarath said she was sitting next to the 14-year-old gunman in algebra class Wednesday morning and had no indication of the horror that might unfold while describing him as a “quiet” teenager.
“He never spoke, most of the time he didn’t go to school, he just skipped classes,” she told CNN. “Even when he spoke, he would respond with one word.”
Sayarath said he was “not surprised” when Gray was identified as the shooter, saying that “when you think about shooters and the way they act, it’s usually the quiet guy and he was the one that fit that description.”
She said that on the morning of the shooting, she was sitting next to the shooter in class and was unaware of the horror that would unfold when he excused himself and left the classroom.
Lyela Sayarath, a junior at Apalachee High School, said she was sitting next to
At least 13 people were shot in the chaos, including two students and two teachers killed.
Sayarath said Gray He left the classroom at 9:45 a.m., about a half-hour before active shooter alerts sounded, and thought he was simply skipping class again because he didn’t take a bathroom pass.
But while he was away, a loudspeaker announcement told teachers to check their emails, before, Sayarath said, Gray reappeared at his classroom door.
Still unaware of the danger, Sayarath said a student went to open the door for Gray before jumping back upon seeing his gun.
“I guess he saw that we weren’t going to let him in. And I guess the door to the classroom next door was open, so I think he started shooting in the classroom,” he said.
She said he proceeded to fire a series of bullets “one after the other,” adding: “When we heard it, most of the people just dropped to the ground and crawled around in an area piled on top of each other.”
Sayarath said his friend was in the classroom next door and witnessed someone being shot, which left him “shocked.” “He saw that someone had been shot. There was blood on him. He was limping a little bit. He looked horrified,” he added.
Horrifying details have emerged from inside classrooms showing the chilling chaos endured by students when gunshots rang out this morning.
Concerned parents gathered at the school on Wednesday
Mason Schermerhorn, 14, an autistic student at Apalachee High School, was the first victim to be identified. He was among four people killed in the mass shooting.
This comes as 14-year-old Mason Schermerhorn became the first of four school shooting victims to be identified.
The victim’s family told Channel 12 News that Schermerhorn, an autistic student, was shot and killed in the Wednesday morning tragedy.
Gray, 14, wounded at least nine other people in the shooting in Winder, Georgia. Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said Gray immediately turned himself in when confronted by police and “surrendered and got on the ground.”
Authorities have not yet provided any identification on the three other people who were shot and killed, and said there are no preliminary indications they were specifically targeted, though the investigation is ongoing.
It is unclear how the 14-year-old gunman obtained the weapon used in the attack, and authorities have not yet said what type of firearm was used.
Following his arrest, Gray will be charged with murder and tried as an adult, the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.
According to authorities, Gray opened fire at approximately 10:23 a.m., injuring at least 13 people as frenzied scenes took over the school.
Footage showed students streaming onto campus as terrified parents ran to find their children, with one mother describing the scene outside the school as pure “chaos”.