Apalachee High School Shooting Victims: What We Know About Four Killed

Four people, two students and two teachers, were killed on Wednesday morning at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, after a 14-year-old opened fire and went on a rampage before surrendering to school resource officers.

During a nighttime news conference, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey identified the victims as students Mason Schermehorn and Christian Angulo, both aged 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie.

At least nine other people, including eight students and one teacher, were injured in the shooting and were taken to hospitals. Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said they were all expected to survive, as reported by the Associated Press.

“Those that are deceased are heroes in my book,” Hosey said on Wednesday night. “Those that are in the hospital recovering right now are heroes in my book.”

Here’s what we know about the four victims.

Richard Aspinwall

Aspinwall was a 39-year-old math teacher at Apalachee High School, as well as the football team’s defensive coordinator. “He was a great dad, man, and a great father,” the school’s head coach Mike Hancock said on Wednesday night, as reported by USA Today.

“He loved his two girls and he loved his wife. He did happen to love the game of football and he was well respected around this area,” he said. “We’ve got a staff that’s hurting. This staff has been together for two years and Ricky has been a big part of it. It’s tough.”

Aspinwall, who had worked at Dunwoody High School in Dekalb County, Georgia, and Mountain View High School before landing the job at Apalachee High School, was one of Hancock’s first hires when taking over the school’s program last season.

Mountain View High School Athletics expressed their condolences with a Facebook post on Wednesday, writing: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of former Mountain View High School teacher and coach Ricky Aspinwall, who lost his life at Apalachee High School today.”

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The two teachers who were shot and killed at Apalachee High School today have been identified as Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie.

They lost their lives alongside two 14-year-old students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo. pic.twitter.com/0MxKLTsNzh

— Bobby Ellison (@BobbyEllisonKY) September 5, 2024

Christina Irimie

Irimie was also a 59-year-old math teacher at the Georgia high school. As of Thursday morning, not much more information has been shared about Irimie.

Mason Schermerhorn

Schermerhorn was a 14-year-old student at the Georgia high school—he was the same age as the shooter. Friends and family described him to The New York Times as a “lighthearted teenager who liked spending time with his family, reading, telling jokes, playing video games and visiting Walt Disney World.” He was new to Apalachee High School.

Schermerhorn’s mother, who confirmed to WSB-TV Atlanta that her son was among the shooting’s victims, said the 14-year-old had autism.

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14-year-old Mason Schermerhorn was killed at Apalachee High School today.

No child should have to worry about going to school and getting shot.

We have failed our children.

This has to stop.

Prayers to Mason’s family and friends. pic.twitter.com/ovDBbrM9Ss

— Michael Skolnik (@MichaelSkolnik) September 5, 2024

Christian Angulo

Angulo, 14, was also a freshman at Apalachee High School. In the GoFundMe started by his family to raise money for his funeral, his older sister Lisette Angulo described him as “very good and very sweet and so caring.”

The campaign has already received 897 donations as of Thursday and reached beyond its target of $30,000.

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Here is the verified GoFundMe for the family of 14-year-old Christian Angulo, who was tragically killed today in the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia.https://t.co/pFAa2zGSO0

— Jalen Drummond (@jalen_drummond) September 5, 2024

“He was so loved by many. His loss was so sudden and unexpected… We are truly heartbroken… He really didn’t deserve this,” his sister wrote.

The suspect, identified as Apalachee High School student Colt Gray, used an “AR-platform-style weapon” in the shooting, Hosey said, but the authorities are still investigating how he got access to the firearm. The teen will be charged with murder as an adult, according to authorities.