Crime
Victims in Apalachee High School shooting identified
The suspect, a 14-year-old student named Colt Gray, has been identified and will face murder charges.
A tragic mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, claimed the lives of four people and injured nine others.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) identified the victims as two teachers, Christina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall, and two students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo.
Nine additional victims, including eight students and one teacher, were transported to area hospitals. Six of the injured individuals, including two with gunshot wounds, were taken to a Northeast Georgia Medical Center campus.
The suspect, a 14-year-old student at Apalachee High School named Colt Gray, has been identified and will face murder charges.
The photo was shared by a former classmate who attended elementary school with Gray in the third grade.
Law enforcement responded swiftly to reports of an active shooter at the school, arriving on the scene shortly before 10:30 a.m. Dozens of officers and emergency vehicles surrounded the school, and students were evacuated to the stadium.
The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office is assisting students in reuniting with their parents. Buses will be provided for transportation.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under investigation. Sheriff Jud Smith stated that there is no known connection between the suspect and the victims.
There have been reports that Kolten Gray, another student at the school, was involved. These reports are inaccurate.
A special education math teacher, David Phenix, has been identified as the first victim of the tragic shooting at Apalachee High School.
Phenix survived the attack but sustained gunshot wounds to the hip and foot, resulting in a shattered hip bone. He was immediately transported to the hospital for emergency surgery.
In May 2023, the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unspecified location.
The threats included photographs of guns. The FBI identified the post as originating in Georgia and referred the information to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office identified a possible suspect, a 13-year-old male, and interviewed him and his father.
The father stated that there were hunting guns in the house, but the suspect did not have unsupervised access to them.
The suspect denied making the threats.
Local schools were alerted for continued monitoring.
At that time, there was no probable cause for arrest or further law enforcement action at the local, state, or federal levels.
A photo depicts the home in Bethlehem, Georgia, where Colt Gray, the alleged 14-year-old suspect in the Apalachee High School shooting, resided with his father and two younger siblings.
The home is approximately 6 miles away from the school.
This is a developing story that will be updated when more information is available.
Crime
Jonathan Schaffer killed in shooting inside Coquette Brasserie at North Hills in Raleigh
According to witnesses, George Colom, the executive chef at Coquette, entered the restaurant before 11 a.m. and fatally shot Jonathan Schaffer, a fellow employee.
Two employees of Coquette Brasserie have identified the gunman involved in Friday’s deadly shooting, which left one employee dead and another injured.
The incident unfolded inside the French restaurant, located at 4351 The Circle at North Hills Street in Raleigh.
According to witnesses, George Colom, the executive chef at Coquette, entered the restaurant before 11 a.m. and fatally shot Jonathan Schaffer, a fellow employee.
Colom then shot Jonathan Aguilar, another employee, who sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
After the shootings, Colom turned the gun on himself. He remains in critical condition, according to Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson.
Chief Patterson stated that all shots were fired inside the restaurant and the incident appeared to stem from a personal dispute.
She emphasized that there is no ongoing threat to the public.
Urban Food Group, the company that owns Coquette, had listed Colom as the restaurant’s executive chef on its website. However, his name has since been removed.
Colom has a notable criminal history:
In September 2024, Colom was involved in a crash in Orange County, North Carolina, and pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of an accident. He was ordered to pay $193 in court costs.
In January 2011, Colom was convicted in federal court for possessing a stolen firearm in New Mexico. He was sentenced to three years and four months in prison. The charges stemmed from a 2010 incident.
After his release from federal prison, Colom returned to North Carolina and transitioned into the restaurant industry. According to his LinkedIn profile, he initially worked in the Wilmington area before moving to the Raleigh-Durham region around 2017.
Before his incarceration, Colom reportedly attended culinary classes at Central New Mexico Community College, where he honed his skills as a chef. His social media accounts feature photos of his culinary creations alongside images of firearms tagged with evidence markers from the U.S. Department of Justice.
State court records indicate that Colom is originally from Hubert, Onslow County, North Carolina, near the coast. His record also includes minor drug charges.
The Raleigh Police Department continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident. Chief Patterson has assured the public that no additional threats exist, and authorities are working to provide clarity to the community.
Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact the Raleigh Police Department or submit tips anonymously.