Two teachers and two students were killed Wednesday in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., the deadliest incident of school violence in state history. At least nine others were injured.
Officials identified the dead students as two 14-year-olds, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo. Officials said the slain teachers were identified as Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimi. The spelling of the names has not been confirmed by the authorities.
Law enforcement officials said at a news conference that the victims who were taken to the hospital were expected to make a full recovery.
“Those who died are heroes in my book,” said Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “Those who are recovering in the hospital right now are heroes in my book.”
Mason Schermerhorn was described by his family friends as a light-hearted teenager who loved spending time with his family, reading, telling jokes, playing video games and visiting Walt Disney World. He recently started school.
“She really enjoyed life,” said Doug Kilburn, 40, a friend who has known Schermerhorn’s mother for a decade. “He was always enthusiastic about everything.”
Louise Briscoe, a co-worker and friend of Schermerhorn’s mother, said the boy and his family were looking forward to their next vacation there.
When Mr. When Briscoe learned about the high school afternoon shooting, he asked Schermerhorn’s mother if everything was OK. She told him: “Mason is gone.”
“My heart just dropped,” said Mr. Briscoe, 45. He added, “No one should have to go through this kind of pain.”
The gunman — who officials identified as a 14-year-old student at the school — will be charged with murder, officials said. Students barricaded themselves in the classroom after hearing the gunshots.
The shooting has shaken residents of Winder, which has about 18,000 residents and is about 50 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.
In high school, Ms. Irimi and Mr. Aspinwall were math teachers. Mr. Aspinwall was also the defensive coordinator of the football team.
David Fenix, a math special education teacher and the school’s golf coach, was injured during the shooting. Katie Fenix, his daughter, a Facebook post On Wednesday, he was shot in the leg and hip and broke his hip bone.
“He woke up alert and awake at the hospital,” she wrote in the post, adding that he had undergone surgery earlier that day.
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