The Michael Schermerhorn shooting at a high school in Winder, Ga., killed two teachers and two students and two other 14-year-olds

The shooting at a high school in Winder, Ga., on Wednesday killed two teachers and two students, becoming the worst school shooting in the state’s history. At least nine others were injured.

The authorities identified the dead students as two 14-year-olds, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo. The dead were identified as Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie. The authorities couldn’t confirm the spellings of the names.

“Those that are deceased are heroes in my book,” said Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “Those that are in the hospital recovering right now are heroes in my book.”

Friends of Mason’s family described him as a fun teen who liked spending time with his family, reading, telling jokes, playing video games, and visiting Disney World. He had just started at the school.

“He really enjoyed life,” said Doug Kilburn, 40, a friend who has known Schermerhorn’s mother for a decade. He had an upbeat attitude about everything.

When he found out there was a shooting at the high school, Mr. Briscoe called the mother to see if she was okay. She told him that he was gone.

At least nine people were injured and taken to the hospital. A 14-year-old boy was taken into custody as a suspected killer. He had previously been investigated by federal and local agencies over “online threats to commit a school shooting,” according to the FBI.

David Phenix, a math special education teacher and the school’s golf coach, was injured during the shooting. Katie Phenix, his daughter, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that he was shot in the foot and hip, shattering his hip bone.

There is little public information about Irimie, other than her listing as a teacher on the Apalachee High School website.

A Conversation with Coach A: Memories of a Legendary Football Coach and an Example for Defending at Apalachee High School

Mason’s family members said that he was always looking at the positive side of things. One of his favorite hobbies was playing video games on his PS5 and virtual reality headset.

“He was a very good kid and very sweet and so caring. He was so loved by many,” his oldest sister, Lisette, said as she launched a GoFundMe page to pay for her younger brother’s funeral.

Aspinwall was a math teacher who also coached football at Apalachee. He and his wife, Shayna, formerly taught together at Mountain View High School. The couple have two young daughters.

Aspinwall’s friends and colleagues are mourning a well-liked and respected coach who specialized in defense. His former players said he was a role model who took a interest in their futures.

“For me specifically, he believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. He pushed me to have high aspirations through the faith he had in me,” Marquel Broughton, one of his former players at Mountain View, told the Gwinnett Daily Post. His love was genuine, and his heart was pure. His legacy will live on through the people he touched. Coach A will forever be known as a hero.”

Detection of a School Shooting at the Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center: A First-Principles Investigation

A lanyard is used to hold the ID that can be worn on a credit card. The staff can press a button on the ID to immediately alert the school and law enforcement of health or safety issues that occur on the campus.

We were alert to an active situation at the school. That was pressed. We’ve had that for about a week now,” Smith told reporters at a news conference Wednesday evening.

The FBI said there were not strong grounds for an arrest or further law enforcement action when schools were notified to keep an eye on the subject. The agency confirmed that the teenager was taken into custody after the shooting.

“The father stated he had hunting guns in the house, but the subject did not have unsupervised access to them. The FBI said the subject denied making the threats.

In a post on X, the FBI said that it received several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unnamed location and time, and that the threats contained photos of guns.

The suspect is currently being held at the Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center, where his first court appearance is scheduled virtually for Friday at 8:30 a.m. The alleged shooter was going to be tried as an adult, according to Chris Hosey.

“This is day 2 of a very complex investigation & the integrity of the case is paramount,” the agency wrote on X. “We ask for the public’s patience as we work to ensure a successful prosecution & justice for the victims.”