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Autistic Teen Among Multiple Killed in Georgia Shooting as New Details Come to Light

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An autistic 14-year-old teen is among those dead in a Georgia high school shooting, multiple reports have confirmed.

Mason Schemerhorn, a 14-year-old special needs student, was among those killed by alleged shooter Colt Gray.

“Family members had circulated photos of him on social media when they couldn’t contact him after the shooting,” WSB-TV reported.

“If he is escalated, PLEASE use a calm voice with him,” they begged in a social media post, according to the New York Post.

“Let him know his mom is looking for him for reassurance.”

Sadly, he was one of the four people killed at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, Georgia on Wednesday morning. Another 14-year-old student, Christian Angulo, was killed, as were teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie.

“The incident first unfolded around 10:20 a.m. when officers from multiple agencies and Fire/EMS personnel were dispatched to the high school after reports of an active shooter,” WSB reported.

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“According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, school resource officers quickly responded to the situation and the shooter surrendered to them.”

It’s unclear what the motive behind the shooting was. However, one of the nine wounded was a special education teacher, leading to online speculation that the suspect had targeted special needs students or teachers.

However, according to NBC News, investigators made clear that there was no evidence of this thus far and it could have been a random attack.

“We don’t know of any targets at this point,” said Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith as he spoke to reporters.

Smith reiterated: “We have not identified that at this point.”

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However, it was reported that the FBI had investigated the suspected shooter for making online threats of a school shooting in May of 2023.

“The threats, which were posted to an online gaming site, contained pictures of guns,” WSB reported.

“The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office located a possible subject, a 13-year-old boy, who denied making the threats. They spoke to the teen’s father, who said the family did own hunting rifles but the teen did not have access to guns. At the time, there was no probable cause for arrest.”

Gov. Brian Kemp announced that he was directing “all available state resources to respond to the incident at Apalachee High School and urge all Georgians to join my family in praying for the safety of those in our classrooms, both in Barrow County and across the state.”

Online, there was an outpouring of grief and sympathy for all the victims, but the murder of the autistic Schemerhorn seemed to strike a particular chord with those following the story:

The shooter will be charged as an adult, authorities say. He reportedly surrendered after a school resource officer confronted him.

“Our school resource officer engaged him and the shooter quickly realized that if he did not give up, that it would end with an OIS — an officer involved shooting,” Sheriff Smith said.

“He gave up, got on the ground and the deputy took him into custody.”

Sadly, that was far too late for at least four innocent people.

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C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he's written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014.
C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he's written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014. Aside from politics, he enjoys spending time with his wife, literature (especially British comic novels and modern Japanese lit), indie rock, coffee, Formula One and football (of both American and world varieties).
Birthplace
Morristown, New Jersey
Education
Catholic University of America
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish
Topics of Expertise
American Politics, World Politics, Culture




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