September in Georgia is usually about high school football and the first hint of relief from the summer humidity. But for the town of Winder, things changed forever on a Wednesday morning. People often search for the Apalachee High School shooting date, trying to piece together a timeline that still feels surreal for those who lived through it.
The date was September 4, 2024.
It wasn't a long, drawn-out ordeal in terms of clock time, but the impact will last decades. Honestly, the details that have come out since that morning paint a picture of a community caught between high-tech safety measures and the raw, unpredictable nature of a tragedy. At approximately 10:20 a.m., the halls of Apalachee High School turned from a standard passing period into a scene of absolute chaos.
The Morning of the Apalachee High School Shooting Date
Look, the morning started out incredibly normal. Students were at their desks, teachers were probably deep into algebra or literature, and the school day was just hitting its stride. Around 10:20 a.m., things fractured.
A 14-year-old freshman, Colt Gray, had managed to smuggle a SIG Sauer M400 semi-automatic rifle into the building. Investigators later found out he basically hid the weapon in his backpack. It’s hard to wrap your head around how a rifle fits in a backpack, but reports from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) clarify that it wasn't broken down—it was just tucked in there.
A Timeline of Minutes
- 10:20 a.m.: Calls start flooding the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office.
- The Centegix Alert: About a week before this, the school had rolled out a new panic button system called Centegix. Teachers had these badges. When they realized what was happening, they pressed those buttons.
- The "Hard Lockdown": The smartboards in the classrooms started flashing "Hard Lockdown" in giant red letters. Some kids actually thought it was a drill because the system was so new.
- 10:23 a.m.: Law enforcement is already on the scene.
- 10:26 a.m.: It’s over. The suspect surrendered to school resource officers Brandon King and Donovan Boyd.
Six minutes. That’s all it took.
Who We Lost That Day
It’s easy to get lost in the "how" and "when," but the "who" is what really matters. Four people didn't come home on the Apalachee High School shooting date.
Two students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both just 14 years old. They were just starting high school. Mason was a kid who loved LEGOs and Disney World. Christian was described by his sister as a sweet, funny kid who loved soccer.
Then there were the teachers. Richard "Ricky" Aspinwall, 39, was a math teacher and the school’s defensive coordinator for the football team. People called him "Coach A." He reportedly died trying to protect his students. Cristina Irimie, 53, was also a math teacher. She had immigrated from Romania and was known for her "corny jokes" and for making every student feel welcome.
The Physical and Emotional Toll
Besides the four lives lost, nine other people were injured—eight students and one teacher. Most of them were hit by gunfire, though some were treated for severe panic attacks. You’ve got to remember that even for the kids who weren't physically hit, the trauma of seeing "Hard Lockdown" on a screen while hearing 10 to 15 rounds go off in the hallway is a heavy burden to carry.
The Warning Signs and Legal Aftermath
There is a lot of talk about whether this could have been stopped. In May 2023, the FBI actually interviewed Colt Gray and his father, Colin Gray. There had been anonymous tips about online threats. At the time, law enforcement said there wasn't enough "probable cause" to make an arrest.
Fast forward to 2024, and the legal fallout has been historic for Georgia.
- Colt Gray: Charged with four counts of felony murder. He’s being tried as an adult.
- Colin Gray: In a rare move, the father was also arrested. He faces charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. Why? Because prosecutors say he knowingly bought the gun for his son as a gift, despite knowing about the previous FBI investigation and the boy's mental health struggles.
This is only the second time in U.S. history that a parent has been charged in connection with a school shooting committed by their child (the first being the Crumbley case in Michigan). It basically signals a massive shift in how the justice system views parental responsibility in these situations.
What Most People Get Wrong
People often think these events happen because of a total lack of security. But Apalachee had resource officers on-site. They had the Centegix panic badges. They had a lockdown protocol.
The scary truth is that the suspect was a student. He knew the layout. He rode the bus that morning with the gun in his bag. He even texted his parents—"I'm sorry" to his mom and "It's not your fault" to his dad—minutes before it started. It wasn't a failure of the "panic button"; the button actually likely saved lives by getting police there in under three minutes. It was a failure of the "before."
Current Status of the Case
As of early 2026, the legal gears are still turning. Colin Gray’s trial was moved to Hall County to try and find an unbiased jury, and it’s set to begin in February 2026. Colt Gray’s case has seen several attorney changes and a series of medical and psychological evaluations. The community is still healing, but the scars are visible every time a school bus rounds a corner in Winder.
How to Move Forward
If you are looking for ways to actually do something rather than just read the news, there are a few practical paths.
- Support the Families: There are still active memorial funds for the victims' families.
- Mental Health Advocacy: Supporting organizations like the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) helps fund the early intervention programs that might catch "red flags" before they escalate.
- Safe Storage Awareness: Whether you're a gun owner or not, supporting "Be SMART" or similar campaigns helps emphasize that firearms should never be accessible to minors without direct supervision.
The Apalachee High School shooting date isn't just a mark on a calendar; it’s a reminder that safety is a constant, evolving conversation.
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If you want to help, look into local school board meetings in your area. Ask about their panic alert systems and how they handle "threat assessments" for students who show warning signs. Being an active part of the solution is the best way to honor the people Winder lost.