‘I saw lockdown initiate before I even heard gunshots.’ Apalachee HS teacher says programs in place had them prepared

WINDER, Ga. (Gray News) – Classes were canceled Thursday at Apalachee High School after a shooting took place on campus the day before killing four and wounding nine.

A 14-year-old student is being charged as an adult in the shooting.

He’s accused of using an assault-style rifle to kill two students and two teachers outside his algebra classroom, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said during a news conference.

Apalachee High School teacher Stephen Kreyenbuhl said the response from the school resource officers was very fast and gives them credit for saving a lot of lives.

“Response was very fast from our SROs, probably with a matter of, you know, probably 120 seconds after gunfire, the SROs responded to the individual and made sure that he was put into custody,” Kreyenbuhl said.

Kreyenbuhl explained that every teacher in the school has a small digital card that allows them to alert administrators and authorities during emergency situations.

He said they press a button four times to get the administration involved and eight times to get law enforcement sent to the high school, alerting them that a physical threat is on campus.

“I actually saw lockdown initiate before I even heard gunshots, so I had time to prepare,” Kreyenbuhl said. “Someone saw the threat even before he started to engage, so it’s almost like we knew before anything truly even happened - before lives were taken. It’s insane, the technology that we have access to.”

Lyela Sayarath sat next to the accused shooter in class and assumed her quiet classmate was skipping school again when the suspect left the room.

She said her teacher got a call over the intercom to check her email and that there was a little back and forth of communication with administration before they heard a knock at the door.

Sayarath said her classmate wanted back into the room. Some students went to open the locked door but instead backed away.

“When they backed off, you could just see him turn to like, my right and then you just hear gunshots,” she said.

The math students fell to the floor and crawled around, looking for a safe corner to hide.

Two school resource officers encountered the shooter within minutes of a report that shots had been fired, Hosey said. The teen immediately surrendered and was taken into custody.

“Without a doubt in my mind, I think this program that Apalachee instilled upon us 100% saved lives. I recommend it to any school district,” Kreyenbuhl said.

The teen has been charged in the deaths of students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53, Hosey said.

He was to be taken Thursday to a regional youth detention facility.

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