Weeks after a school shooting, students return to classes at Apalachee High School

Students flocked to Apalachee High School on Tuesday for their first day of classes after a shooting on the campus northeast of Atlanta nearly three weeks ago left two classmates and two teachers dead and nine others wounded.

The sun was still rising as buses with windows painted “CHEE STRONG” and “Love will overcome” circled the school entrance. Georgia State Patrol cars and sheriff’s vehicles weaved through traffic as students pulled into parking lots.

Police say 14-year-old student Colt Gray snuck out of math class on the morning of Sept. 4 with an AR-15-style rifle given to him by his father. Within minutes, gunshots rang out in the hallway and students crouched behind their desks as teachers barricaded classroom doors. The school went on lockdown. Some students saw bodies as officers led them to the football field, where others were bleeding from bullet grazes.

“I don’t want to go back because it’s my last year and it’s kind of tough on me,” said Apalachee junior Garcia Ramirez, who was close to the football coach killed by the shooter.

But the open house the school hosted Monday helped Ramirez feel more prepared to go back. He said there was “not a corner” of the school without staff, police officers, counselors or therapy dogs roaming the halls. He was especially happy to hear from school board officials and see how much they cared.

The atmosphere at the open house was one of joy and unease, Ramirez said. Students were excited to be together again, but some were anxious about returning to class because the closed-off hallway where the shooting occurred reminded them that their safety was at risk.

The next day, students walked around campus and chatted with friends as they walked to the building to start class.

Within two days of the shooting, Gray was charged with four counts of murder and his father was charged with related charges. Officials said Gray shot and killed Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn, both 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall, the 39-year-old soccer coach, and Cristina Irimie, 53. Another teacher and eight students were wounded.

Classes will resume for half days until students return from fall break in mid-October in what the school is calling a “phased return.” The hall where the shooting occurred will be closed for the rest of the school year, so buses will take students to a building a few miles away for civics classes. There will also be an increased law enforcement presence on campus, along with counselors and therapy dogs, as there was for the open house.

Amanda Buckingham, a parent from Apalachee, is happy about the shorter class times and less schoolwork.

“I think that will help with the healing process and allow kids to work together again and talk about their feelings while they’re in that setting,” Buckingham said.

Anxious parents returned their children to nearby elementary and middle schools in Winder less than a week after the shooting. Some expressed concern about the ongoing security protocols at all three campuses, even as police officers stood outside.

Other community members are concerned the school isn’t doing enough and have petitioned for metal detectors, long-term plans for law enforcement and at least temporary options for online learning.

“There are safety precautions in place and just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they’re not there, contrary to what you hear and see on social media,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said at a news conference outside the school Monday.

Messages of support for Apalachee are strewn across the windows of Winder. “PRAY FOR APALACHEE,” reads a sign in the window of a local portrait shop. “LOVE WILL PREVAIL/BARROW COUNTY STRONG,” reads another outside Walgreens. Outside a coffee shop, a chalkboard lists the names of all the victims killed in the shooting.