WINDER, Ga. (AP) — A 14-year-old student has been arrested after bringing a gun on Wednesday to Apalachee High School, the same Georgia high school where a shooting in September killed two teachers and two students and wounded others.
The Barrow County Sheriff's Office said school resource officers arrested the boy “without incident” Wednesday afternoon at the school in Winder, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta. Deputies said the student was “cooperative and compliant when encountered by law enforcement officers and there have been no reports of the student threatening anyone with the gun.”
The student, who wasn't named because of his age, was taken to a juvenile detention center in Gainesville. He's charged with two counts of possessing a weapon on school grounds, theft and being a minor in possession of a gun. Deputies didn't say what kind of gun was seized. Authorities said the student was arrested shortly after 2 p.m. at school, but they did not say when he arrived or release details of the circumstances of the arrest.
The Barrow County school district canceled classes on Thursday at the high school with nearly 2,000 students, located about 45 miles (70 kilometers) northeast of downtown Atlanta.
The Sept. 4 shooting killed teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, seven of them hit by gunfire.
Colt Gray, who was 14 at the time, was charged as an adult after the September shooting and was indicted on 55 counts, including murder and 25 counts of aggravated assault at the high school. He has pleaded not guilty. His father, Colin Gray, was indicted on 29 counts, including two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter, based on prosecutors' contention that Colin Gray let his son access guns and ammunition “after receiving sufficient warning” that the boy would harm others. Colin Gray has also pleaded not guilty.
The district told parents that students and staff should not report to school Thursday and that on-campus extracurricular activities were canceled. The district also canceled an open house to view new portable classrooms that were erected on campus to replace classrooms in the now closed-off hallway where the shooting took place
Wednesday's arrest came after some students, teachers and parents attended a Barrow County school board meeting on Tuesday to demand that the district take additional visible measures to enhance security at Apalachee. They suggested even more school resource officers, mandating clear backpacks and buying a computerized camera system that the maker says can detect guns using artificial intelligence.
Superintendent Dallas LeDuff said at the meeting that the district will present results from a security survey later this month and has met with school resource officers to discuss what security measures they recommend.
“It has been a very intentional process,” LeDuff said. “I think I am proud of the work our staff has done.”
FILE - A memorial is seen at Apalachee High School after a school shooting, Sept. 7, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)
DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — As the 2026 World Cup draws closer, Joe Scally knows U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino is keeping a close eye on him.
The right back wants to deliver a “showcase" of his abilities in what may be his toughest game of the season against Bayern Munich on Saturday.
“Every game, someone from the national team is watching,” Scally said on a recent call with reporters. “For the time being, I'm thinking about club. I’m not really thinking, going into a game, ‘Is the coach watching?’ or something like that, because I’m sure he’ll hear. But playing Bayern is always special.”
Scally is hoping he and Borussia Moenchengladbach can catch Bayern unawares in the first game for both teams this year after the Bundesliga winter break.
“They’re the best team, some could say in the world. In the league right now they’re at the top of the table,” he said. “You have so much motivation for these games and it’s almost like you have nothing to lose. So (you've) just got to go out there and try to showcase yourself.”
Bayern has a four-point lead over last season's champion Bayer Leverkusen but will have to be wary against Gladbach, which has a history of springing surprises on Bayern.
Gladbach has beaten Bayern nine times in the last decade, including in 2021 when Scally played in a 5-0 German Cup demolition of Bayern which ranked among the Munich team's worst ever losses. Bayern goes into the game with a question mark over attacking midfielder Jamal Musiala who is ill, and uncertainty over its goalkeeping options.
Scally's just 22 but the defender from Long Island has already racked up 115 games for Gladbach in all competitions since joining from New York City FC in 2021.
He's also played 19 games for the United States, including every minute of all four games since Pochettino took over in October. How long that streak continues will likely depend on the fitness and form of fellow right back Sergino Dest, who hasn't played since April because of a knee injury.
Scally said he takes “a lot of pride” in being consistent and gathering more top-division experience than many other players his age, and becoming more versatile by playing on the left flank or on the right of a central defensive three.
After then-coach Gregg Berhalter took him to the World Cup in 2022 but didn't play him, Scally said he didn't understand the decision and it affected him “immensely.”
A year and a half out from the World Cup in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, Scally had warm words for Pochettino.
“We’re still all understanding how we’re going to communicate, things like that, but everything is going in the right direction,” he said.
“You see the way we’ve been playing, everyone has so much confidence. The coach has talked to all of us individually and told us what he likes in each position and everything like that. Everything’s on the right path.”
Bayern could get a boost if Leverkusen drops points at Borussia Dortmund on Friday, while a win for Leverkusen would put Xabi Alonso's team a point off Bayern at the top. It would also put Dortmund at risk of dropping from sixth place to as low as 10th after this weekend.
Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka is doubtful after twisting his ankle but “there is still hope,” Alonso said on Thursday.
On Sunday, Leipzig sorely needs a win at home to Werder Bremen after ending 2024 with a 5-1 loss to Bayern in the Bundesliga and losses in all six of its Champions League games.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Joe Scally, left, of the United States, and Uruguay's Maximiliano Araujo, right, battle for the ball during a Copa America Group C soccer match, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga, File)
FILE - Gladbach's Joe Scally is challenged by Augsburg's Phillip Tietz, right, and Ermedin Demirovic during the Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Monchengladbach and FC Augsburg in Monchengladbach, Germany, Sunday Jan. 21, 2024. (Marius Becker/dpa via AP, File)
