Students, staff prepare to return to Apalachee High School after deadly shooting

WINDER, Ga. (WANF/Gray News) - Three weeks after a school shooting that claimed four lives, students and staff at a Georgia high school are being eased back into their daily routines.

On Monday, Apalachee High School welcomed those who are comfortable with returning to school to an open house.

Classes resume on Tuesday, but students will only stay for half the day until Oct. 4.

Apalachee High School teacher David Phenix has been released from the hospital. He posted an emotional message on his Facebook page Sunday night.

Once they return from fall break on Oct. 14, they’ll be back full-time. School officials said there will be an increased law enforcement presence, additional counselors, therapy dogs and other resources.

Police say 14-year-old Colt Gray opened fire inside the school on Sept. 4. The shooting claimed the lives of football coach Richard Aspinwall, math teacher Cristina Irimie, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo.

The building’s J Hall, the area where the shooting happened, will be closed for the rest of the year, and social studies classes will be held in a nearby Barrow County Schools building. Buses will take students back and forth.

It’s a day that will bring back painful memories of what happened there three weeks ago for many students.

“It was hard even being there myself, you know, given the fact that I was in that room where I was practicing, where I was in that room whenever it happened. And just to be there in that moment, you know, it was scary but to know that we have a strong community,” said Armando Martinez, an Apalachee High School student.

“What evil did not plan for was the resiliency and the strength that they have,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said Monday.

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