Four died, nine wounded in a shootout in Georgia, US

Four people died and nine others were wounded in a shootout involving a 14 year old student at Apalachee High School, Winder, Georgia, US.

The four are two teachers and two fellow students. The nine sustained various injuries from gunshots.

The 14 year old suspect have been identified as Colt Gray have been taken into custody and will be tried as an adult, said authorities.

“What we see behind us is an evil thing today,” Sheriff Jud Smith said during a brief news conference on school grounds, Reuters reported.

Smith said that his deputies quickly responded to the shooting after the sheriff’s department got word of an active shooter around 10:20 a.m.

The gunman was confronted by a deputy in the school and the boy immediately got on the ground and surrendered, Smith said.

White House responds

The White House said in a statement that President Joe Biden had been briefed on the shooting “and his administration will continue coordinating with federal, state, and local officials as we receive more information.”

“Jill and I are mourning the deaths of those whose lives were cut short due to more senseless gun violence and thinking of all of the survivors whose lives are forever changed,” Biden said in a statement, calling on Republicans to work with Democrats to pass “common-sense gun safety legislation.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party nominee for president, called the shooting a “senseless tragedy.”

“We’ve gotta stop it. We have to end this epidemic of gun violence,” Harris said at the start of a campaign event in New Hampshire.

The deadliest shooting saw over 30 deaths at Virginia Tech in 2007 in the US.