Students recovering from the traumatic shooting at Apalachee High School have revealed the moment they narrowly avoided gunman Colt Gray as he opened fire, killing four people.
Classmate Bri Jones, 14, said Gray quietly left the room and she almost let him back in before noticing he was brandishing an AR-style weapon.
“As I was looking toward the door, he pulled out his gun and I just froze, like I was frozen and I was saying ‘no’ to myself,” Jones told CNN. “It would have taken out every single one of us in that class.”
The entire community of Winder, Georgia, is still reeling from Wednesday’s tragedy, with heartbreaking vigils held on the school campus as 14-year-old Gray faces felony murder charges.
Bri Jones, 14, a classmate of the suspected school shooter, said she almost opened the door to the gunman but stopped when she saw his gun, admitting that if she had done so, “he would have killed every single one of us in that class.”
Colt Gray, 14, allegedly shot 13 people, four of them fatally, in a terrifying shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday morning.
Gray has been arrested and charged with the murders of teachers Christina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14.
The shooter’s father, Colin Gray, has also been charged with a number of crimes, including murder. Prosecutors say he gave the gun to his son “knowing he was a threat to himself and others.”
Both father and son face life in prison.
Several classmates shared similar stories, describing how the teen quietly slipped out of algebra class around 10 a.m. Wednesday. He returned minutes later with a gun.
Jones said he almost opened the door, but stopped after a warning from his mother.
“I always look at the door before opening it… it’s a habit my mother taught me,” he said.
Although she saw the gun, Jones said her teacher urged her to open the door “because she didn’t know he had a gun because it was in his desk.”
“She was going to go over there, open it, and I said, ‘No, he’s got a gun,'” Jones said.
Mason Schermerhorn, 14, an autistic student at Apalachee High School, was the first victim to be identified. Christian Angulo, 14, also lost his life in the senseless shooting.
“The shooter looked up,” Jones continued. “He was looking at me, my teacher, and then someone was in the hallway. He turned his head and started shooting.”
‘Once he started shooting, it was like he just kept shooting, it was so many shots after shots… It seemed like he was shooting forever, and then he stopped.’
Students said that when Gray was unable to get into his own classroom, he opened fire on the one next door whose door was open.
At the time, teacher Richard Aspinwall was shot dead in front of his horrified class, which student Malaysia Mitchell says left her traumatised.
“We had to drag our teacher’s body into the classroom,” he told CNN. “We heard him take his last breath.”
Prosecutors said they have not ruled out filing additional charges against Gray in connection with the shooting.
As her father Colin was brought into court on Friday to face charges, footage showed him rocking back and forth and sobbing as the victim’s loved ones looked on.
Colt’s father, Colin Gray, 54, is accused of buying his 14-year-old son the AR-15-style rifle the boy used and was arrested Thursday on multiple counts of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children.
Georgia school shooter Colt Gray made his first court appearance Friday
Colin Gray’s hearing came just after his 14-year-old son Colt learned that as a juvenile he would not face the death penalty for killing four people.
The young man appeared in person in shackles, wearing a green T-shirt and grey tracksuit bottoms. He kept his head down, his hair covering his face, and spoke only in a low voice to Judge Currie Mingledorff, replying “yes, sir” when asked to confirm his name.
The distraught father began rocking after Judge Mingledorff told him the maximum sentences he could receive, and is expected to appear in court on December 4.
Judge Mingledorff informed the elder Gray that he could face up to 30 years in prison for each count of felony murder, 10 years each for involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children, for a total maximum sentence of 180 years.
The victims’ relatives stared at him throughout the hearing as he kept his head down and avoided eye contact with anyone except the judge.
Dozens of emotional family members filled the courtroom for the first appearances of the two Grays, with some visibly crying before the hearing began. Some wore sunglasses to shield their faces and were supported by detectives in the courtroom.
Relatives of the father and son did not appear to be supportive in the courtroom.
Judge Mingledorff informed the elder Gray that he could face up to 30 years in prison for each count of felony murder, 10 years each for involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children, for a total maximum sentence of 180 years.
