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Inside the Georgia high school where a sleepy morning was pierced by gunfire

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Inside the Georgia high school where a sleepy morning was pierced by gunfire
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Inside the Georgia high school where a sleepy morning was pierced by gunfire

2024-09-06 18:55 Last Updated At:19:01

WINDER, Ga. (AP) — It was the middle of second period at Apalachee High School, and the boy who few knew slipped out of his algebra class in J Hall again. That didn't strike his fellow students as unusual.

“He got up sometime in the morning, and class continued as normal,” Lyela Sayarath said. “He was probably just skipping.”

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Apalachee High School is seen a day after a mass shooting occured at the school, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Apalachee High School is seen a day after a mass shooting occured at the school, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Mourners pray during a candlelight vigil for the slain students and teachers at Apalachee High School, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Mourners pray during a candlelight vigil for the slain students and teachers at Apalachee High School, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Mark Gorman holds a candle during a candlelight vigil for the slain students and teachers at Apalachee High School, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Mark Gorman holds a candle during a candlelight vigil for the slain students and teachers at Apalachee High School, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Two students view a memorial as the flags fly half-staff after a shooting Wednesday at Apalachee High School, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Two students view a memorial as the flags fly half-staff after a shooting Wednesday at Apalachee High School, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Mourners listen to a speaker during a candlelight vigil for the slain students and teachers at Apalachee High School, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Mourners listen to a speaker during a candlelight vigil for the slain students and teachers at Apalachee High School, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

People gather at the flagpole outside the entrance to Apalachee High School on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024 in Winder, Ga., a day after deadly shootings at the school. (AP Photo/Sharon Johnson)

People gather at the flagpole outside the entrance to Apalachee High School on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024 in Winder, Ga., a day after deadly shootings at the school. (AP Photo/Sharon Johnson)

Georgia Bureau of Investigation staff move through an entrance to Apalachee High School after Wednesday's shooting, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Georgia Bureau of Investigation staff move through an entrance to Apalachee High School after Wednesday's shooting, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Many teenagers weren't quite awake on Wednesday morning at the high school near Winder, in rapidly suburbanizing Barrow County. Junior Julie Sandoval was dozing in her physics class as other students caught up on work. Sophomore Jacob King also dozed off, in world history, after a morning football practice.

But soon, terror and panic erupted as authorities say Colt Gray, the 14-year-old student who left class, returned to the hallway with a semiautomatic assault-style rifle and opened fire. Four people were killed and nine more hurt, seven of them shot, in the latest school shooting to shock the nation.

Gray is charged with four counts of murder. Authorities haven't said yet where he got the weapon, how he brought it to campus or what he did with it in the two hours between school starting at 8:15 a.m. and when shots first rang out around 10:20 a.m.

Law enforcement hasn't said whether Gray was being sought before the shooting. “We’re still trying to clarify a lot of the timeline,” Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said Wednesday.

On Thursday, officials also arrested his father, Colin Gray, and charged him with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree murder and cruelty to children, saying he knowingly allowed his son to possess a gun.

At the school on Wednesday morning, the alert was sounded when several teachers set off their wearable panic buttons, which Sheriff Jud Smith said were distributed to staff only days earlier. That sparked a lockdown, and immediately a warning flashed on classroom smartboards across the sprawling school.

“The screen ... said ‘hard lockdown’ in big red words, and the top light started flashing,” said Layla Ferrell, a junior who was in a food and nutrition class in another hall.

Many thought it was a drill. Georgia schools are required to complete at least one active shooter drill by Oct. 1 each year.

“I thought it was fake until my friend told me it wasn’t fake,” King said. He added, “They weren’t really acting like it was real.”

Some heard what sounded like a loud, metallic crash.

“It sounded more like punching a locker at first,” Ferrell said.

But those in J Hall had no doubt.

Sayarath said that when the suspect tried to return to class, a student saw what warrants describe as “black semi-automatic AR-15 style rifle” and refused to let him in. Classroom doors at the school lock automatically and must be opened from inside, a “hardening” precaution in America’s era of school shootings.

Kaylee Abner, a sophomore, said a student who left her geometry class to take a test elsewhere came racing back.

“She ran back inside, shuts the door and then we hear three gunshots,” Abner said.

Junior Landon Culver got a glimpse of the shooter after leaving algebra II.

“I was walking out to get water and I heard gunshots and I heard bullets going like by my head,” Culver said. “It looked like he was wearing a black hoodie and he had a AR and, I just, I didn’t really stick around too long to look.”

Marques Coleman Jr. told The Washington Post that the shooter leaned inside an open door of his algebra classroom and sprayed it with gunfire, hitting people including Christian Angulo, who died. Others were shot in the hall.

Senior Kassidy Reed was retaking a test in a hallway when she heard shots from around the corner. A teacher told everyone to flee.

“He got us up and told us to run because our classroom door was shut and it was locked, so we couldn’t get in there,” Reed said.

A teacher across the hall opened the door to her chemistry classroom, and the students ran inside. “I hid under a lab table,” Reed said.

Teachers turned out lights and herded students into corners or behind desks. Classroom furniture became makeshift barricades.

“We put desks and chairs against our door and built it up so that nobody could get in, and then we were all just quiet, waiting,” Ferrell said.

Authorities say the suspect fatally shot students Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn, both 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53. The nine who were hurt — eight students and a teacher — are expected to recover.

One of the three school resource officers on campus quickly tracked down the shooter, who gave up and was taken into custody, the sheriff said.

Some students said they heard shouts from an officer ordering the shooter to halt and put his gun down.

“I heard the 'Get down! Get down! Don't move!' Reed said. Then, the sound of a “scuffle” as the suspect was handcuffed.

But the terror wasn't over.

Students said some students and teachers took off their clothes to try to stanch bleeding from gunshot wounds.

Deputies with guns drawn searched classroom by classroom for any more wounded, as well as any other possible shooters.

As students huddled, they called and texted each other and their parents. More than a few sent what they feared would be farewells.

“I love you. I love you so much. Ma I love you,” a crying Sandoval texted. “I’m sorry I’m not the best daughter. I love you.”

Sandoval’s mother wrote back in Spanish to say everything would be all right and she should trust in God.

“We started praying, because we didn’t know whether we would come out alive or not,” said Michelle Moncada, a freshman who was in art class.

Nearby, Sandoval said, another student was on the phone with their mother: “They’re shooting up the school! They’re shooting up the school!”

Abner held the hand of a boy who was praying.

“I was just trying to think happy thoughts, trying not to think anything negative,” she said.

The hundreds of panicked parents who raced to the school created a traffic jam along the two-lane roads near Apalachee High. Many abandoned their cars and ran toward campus.

Shannon Callahan, Ferrell's mother, said her daughter texted a photo of her barricaded under a table. “Once the texts stopped, I was 100% completely worried.”

During the evacuation, King saw the body of what appeared to a student on the floor. “They were blocking the body,” King said.

Abner also saw what appeared to be female student who had been shot, in the shoulder. She was leaning against a wall as emergency personnel attended to her.

Another female student was lying on the floor and covering her eyes, Abner said: “I don’t know if she was dead or shot or something, or just processing.”

Reed saw a gun on the floor, and blood.

As they fled, students abandoned bookbags, phones, even shoes. Ferrell lost her rainbow Crocs and later made the long walk to her mother's car in her socks.

Gathered inside the football stadium, students wept and milled around.

“Everyone is crying, everyone is walking around,” Moncada said. “They’re all running around trying to see who’s OK and who’s not.”

By early afternoon, students began to be released to parents to go home.

But Culver and others said the sound of gunfire will stick with them forever.

“You could hear gunshots, like just ringing out through the school,” Culver said. “And you’re just wondering, which one of those is going to be somebody that you’re best friends with or somebody that you love?”

Associated Press writer Charlotte Kramon contributed.

Apalachee High School is seen a day after a mass shooting occured at the school, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Apalachee High School is seen a day after a mass shooting occured at the school, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Mourners pray during a candlelight vigil for the slain students and teachers at Apalachee High School, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Mourners pray during a candlelight vigil for the slain students and teachers at Apalachee High School, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Mark Gorman holds a candle during a candlelight vigil for the slain students and teachers at Apalachee High School, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Mark Gorman holds a candle during a candlelight vigil for the slain students and teachers at Apalachee High School, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Two students view a memorial as the flags fly half-staff after a shooting Wednesday at Apalachee High School, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Two students view a memorial as the flags fly half-staff after a shooting Wednesday at Apalachee High School, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Mourners listen to a speaker during a candlelight vigil for the slain students and teachers at Apalachee High School, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Mourners listen to a speaker during a candlelight vigil for the slain students and teachers at Apalachee High School, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

People gather at the flagpole outside the entrance to Apalachee High School on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024 in Winder, Ga., a day after deadly shootings at the school. (AP Photo/Sharon Johnson)

People gather at the flagpole outside the entrance to Apalachee High School on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024 in Winder, Ga., a day after deadly shootings at the school. (AP Photo/Sharon Johnson)

Georgia Bureau of Investigation staff move through an entrance to Apalachee High School after Wednesday's shooting, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Georgia Bureau of Investigation staff move through an entrance to Apalachee High School after Wednesday's shooting, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Basketball Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich is recovering from what the San Antonio Spurs described as a mild stroke, though there is no timetable for the NBA's longest-tenured coach to return to the sideline.

Popovich had the stroke on Nov. 2 at the arena where the Spurs play, the team said Wednesday, and has already started a rehabilitation program with belief that he will make a full recovery. The team released no other details, including what aftereffects of the stroke — if any — that he is dealing with.

“It's a difficult time for everyone,” Spurs general manager Brian Wright said. “Coach Pop has been the leader of this organization for the last three decades. We all have come across or know people that just have a different aura, a difference presence about them. Clearly, he's one of those people. When we walk into the building each and every day, we feel that leadership, we feel that presence and so not having him there's clearly a void. And we miss him.”

The 75-year-old Popovich is the NBA's all-time win leader who has led the Spurs to five championships, plus guided USA Basketball to a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. He is in his 29th season as coach of the Spurs.

“He's doing well. He's doing well. ... He's tough, he's a fighter and he's going to work,” Wright said. “We're all here for him, but he's doing OK.”

Assistant coach Mitch Johnson has been the acting head coach in Popovich’s absence. The Spurs beat Washington 139-130 on Wednesday night, the the seventh straight game in which Johnson has filled in for Popovich.

“Mitch has been great,” Spurs rookie Stephon Castle said Wednesday, before the team announced the details about Popovich’s health. “Even when Pop was here, he’s always had a voice in our huddles and in our locker room. Our philosophies haven’t been changed.”

Victor Wembanyama, who scored a career-high 50 points in the win over the Wizards, said the team first learned about Popovich’s stroke before the team’s announcement.

“Of course I’m a bit worried about Pop,” Wembanyama said. “At the same time, I haven’t talked to him, but I know what mindset he’s on right on. I know he’s working like crazy, probably to come back with us as soon as possible. I trust him. I trust the people taking care of him right now. I hope he’s not going to be away from us for too long.”

A stroke happens when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked or if a blood vessel in the brain bursts. That deprives the brain of oxygen which can cause brain damage that can lead to difficulty thinking, talking and walking, or even death. Strokes may lead to difficulty speaking, paralysis or loss of movement in certain muscles, memory loss and more.

It is unknown if Popovich is dealing with any aftereffects of the stroke.

Stroke was the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more than half a million Americans have a stroke every year.

The Spurs were playing the Minnesota Timberwolves at home on Nov. 2, and Popovich's medical episode occurred there in the hours before that game. Johnson took over for that night's contest, which the Spurs won, after the team said Popovich was not feeling well.

Johnson and Popovich spoke on Nov. 3, and on Nov. 4 Johnson said Popovich is “in good spirits ... he'll be OK. He is OK.” The Spurs had not released much in the way of details since, prior to Wednesday's announcement about the stroke.

Wright raved about the way Johnson and the Spurs have bonded and dealt with the absence of the team's leader.

“It's exactly what Coach Pop would want us to do,” Wright said. “And so, it's on all of us to play our part, to play our role, to continue to lean on each other, support one another and be there for one another.”

Popovich is one of only three coaches to win the NBA coach of the year award three times, Don Nelson and Pat Riley being the others. He’s one of five coaches with at least five NBA titles; Phil Jackson (11), Red Auerbach (9), John Kundla (5) and Riley (5) are the others.

Popovich has been part of the Spurs for nearly 35 years. He was an assistant coach from 1988 through 1992, then returned to the club on May 31, 1994, as its executive vice president for basketball operations and general manager. He made the decision to fire coach Bob Hill and appoint himself coach on Dec. 10, 1996.

He's been the Spurs' sideline boss ever since.

“We look forward to the day that we can welcome him back,” Wright said.

Popovich's 29-year run with the Spurs is a span the likes of which has been nearly unmatched in U.S. major pro sports history.

Connie Mack managed the Philadelphia Athletics for 50 years, George Halas coached the Chicago Bears for 40 years and John McGraw managed the New York Giants for 31 years. Those three tenures — all wrapping up well over a half-century ago — are the only ones exceeding Popovich’s run with the Spurs; his 29-year era in San Antonio to this point matches the tenures that Dallas Cowboys’ Tom Landry and the Green Bay Packers’ Curly Lambeau had in those jobs.

Reynolds reported from Miami.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich gives instructions to his players during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich gives instructions to his players during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul has a word with Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul has a word with Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich reacts after a call by the official, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich reacts after a call by the official, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich gives instructions to his players during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich gives instructions to his players during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul has a word with Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul has a word with Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich reacts after a call by the official, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich reacts after a call by the official, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

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