14-year-old gunman kills 4 people in US school shooting

A 14-year-old gunman killed at least four people, including two students, and injured nine others at a high school in the US state of Georgia on Wednesday, police said.

The shooter – also a student at the school – was arrested. He will be charged with murder and tried as an adult, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.

Two teachers were among the dead.

Following the latest chapter of America's gun violence crisis – by one count there have been nearly 400 mass shootings this year alone – people gathered on a sports field outside Apalachee High School, some forming a circle with their arms folded, AFP reported.

“Our school liaison officer tackled him,” county sheriff Jud Smith told reporters, referring to police officers who work in U.S. schools.

“The shooter quickly realized that if he didn't surrender, it would end in an OIS – a police-involved shooting. He gave up, lay down on the ground, and the deputy took him into custody.”

Late Wednesday, the FBI announced that the suspect had been reported to the FBI over a year ago for threatening to commit a school shooting.

At the time, the county sheriff's office interviewed the father and the then 13-year-old suspect, who denied making the threats, before the child was handed over to school officials for supervision.

Smith said police do not yet know whether the shooter targeted specific people, and authorities have not yet identified the weapon.

Some at the school initially thought it was just another shooting exercise, one student told AFP, referring to the drills commonly used in US schools.

“Everyone thought it was a wrong exercise until my teacher said we didn’t get an email,” said Alexsandra Romeo.

“She put us all in a little corner and everyone hugged each other. Some of my friends were crying. Until two police officers came in with guns and told us that this was not a drill and that we were still not safe.”

Another student, 17-year-old Stephanie Folgar, described hearing “loud bangs” and panicking while other students hid in the bathrooms and toilets.

“It’s scary to know that could have been you,” she said.

A student told local media that he saw blood on the floor and a dead body as he was led out of the building by authorities.

The shooting occurred near the town of Winder, about 70 kilometers northeast of Atlanta, the state capital.

Previously, the school board reportedly sent a message to parents saying they would enforce a hard lockdown “following reports of gunfire.”

After the all-clear was given, parents were invited to the school to meet their children again. Long lines of cars could be seen outside.

“Epidemic” of gun violence

Unfortunately, school shootings have become commonplace in the United States. About a third of all adults own a firearm, and there are lax regulations on even the purchase of high-powered military rifles.

Polls show that a majority of voters support tighter controls on the use and purchase of firearms. But the powerful gun lobby opposes additional restrictions, and lawmakers have repeatedly failed to take action.

US President Joe Biden said he mourned the dead.

“Students across the country are learning to duck and hide instead of learning to read and write. We can no longer accept this as normal,” he said.

At a campaign rally in New Hampshire after the shooting, Vice President Kamala Harris said it was time to end the “gun violence epidemic.”

Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump described the perpetrator as a “sick and deranged monster.”

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been at least 384 mass shootings across the United States this year – defined as shootings that left at least four people dead or injured.

According to the GVA, at least 11,557 people have been killed by gun violence in the United States this year.