'Great' dad. 'Caring' brother. Families mourn Georgia high school shooting victims.
ATHENS, Ga. — A rural Georgia community is mourning the loss of four people who were killed Wednesday after a 14-year-old student opened fire at a high school — sending students and staff rushing to shelter in their classrooms as schools throughout the county went into lockdown.
The four victims killed were identified as two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder, an Atlanta suburb of 18,300 people. The attack, which also injured eight students and one teacher, sent shock waves through the community.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey confirmed Wednesday night that 14-year-olds, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, and teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie, were killed in the shooting.
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith called the shooting "pure evil."
"This hits home for me because I was born and raised here," Smith said at an earlier news conference on Wednesday. "My heart hurts for these kids. My heart hurts for our community, but I want to make it very clear that hate will not prevail in this county. I want that to be very clear and known. Love will prevail over what happened today. I assure you of that."
Hundreds of community members gathered in downtown Winder for a vigil on Wednesday night. Many held candles, bowing their heads down and holding each other as they prayed for the lives lost in the tragic shooting.
Here's what we know so far about the victims:
Mason Schermerhorn, 14
Schermerhorn's family members shared photos of him on social media when they couldn’t contact him after the shooting.
On Facebook, friends described him as a sweet soul taken in a senseless act.
"He really enjoyed life," Doug Kilburn, who has known Schermerhorn’s mother for a decade, told The New York Times. "He always had an upbeat attitude about everything."
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Christian Angulo, 14
Angulo was a freshman at Apalachee High School, WAGA-TV reported. Friends of the 14-year-old described him as a free spirit with a "chill" attitude.
His older sister, Lisette, remembered Angulo as "very sweet and so caring," according to a GoFundMe page for Angulo's funeral services.
"He was so loved by many. His loss was so sudden and unexpected," Lisette Angulo wrote. "We are truly heartbroken. He really didn’t deserve this."
Richard Aspinwall, 39
Aspinwall taught math at Apalachee High School and was the school football team's defensive coordinator. Head coach Mike Hancock on Wednesday night was grieving Aspinwall's loss for the Winder community and his family.
"He was a great dad, man, and a great father," Hancock said. "He loved his two girls and he loved his wife. He did happen to love the game of football and he was well respected around this area."
"We've got a staff that's hurting," Hancock added. "This staff has been together for two years and Ricky has been a big part of it. It's tough."
Aspinwall, a Rome native, was one of Hancock's first hires when taking over Apalachee's program last season when Aspinwall came from Mountain View High School in Lawrenceville to serve as the defensive coordinator. Aspinwall also had a coaching stint at Dunwoody High School in Dekalb County, less than an hour away from Winder.
The Mountain View High School Athletics shared their condolences to the Apalachee community in a statement on Facebook.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of former Mountain View High School teacher and coach Ricky Aspinwall, who lost his life at Apalachee High School today," Mountain View High School Athletics said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with you all during this tragic time."
Buford High School football coach Brandon Gill shared on X, formerly Twitter, that he was "unbelievably heartbroken over the loss of our dear friend."
"@CoachAwall …. He was truly as great as they come. Helluva human being. Would do anything for anyone. Amazing husband, father, teacher and coach. I’ll never forget you, brother!" Gill added.
Christina Irimie, 53
According to the Barrow County Schools website, Irimie was a math teacher at Apalachee High School.
Contributing: Sara Tidwell and Vanessa Countryman, Athens Banner-Herald