At least four people have been killed and at least nine have been injured in a school shooting in the US, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has said.
The shooting took place at Apalachee High School, situated in Winder in Barrow County – around 50 miles from the city of Atlanta.
One suspect is in custody, the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
The suspect is a teenager, NBC News, Sky’s US partner said, quoting multiple senior law enforcement officials, although it is unclear whether the suspect is a student at the school.
Officers said they heard about the incident just before 9.30am local time, and responders from “multiple law enforcement agencies” were sent to the high school “in reference to a reported active shooting”.
The school was placed on lockdown, but this has now been cleared and pupils released to their families.
Dozens of police swarmed the campus and students rushed for shelter in the football stadium.
Local TV stations showed images of parents lining up in cars on a road outside the school, hoping to be reunited with their children.
Camille Nelms said she was shedding tears when a gunman opened fire on her classroom.
As bullets came flying into her classroom, the teacher and students tried to take shelter in the corner.
“I was crying, I didn’t want to die that way,” Nelms told NBC affiliate WXIA of Atlanta. “I don’t want to meet the Lord that way.”
Student Jacob King said he had dozed off in his world history class after morning football practice when he heard about 10 gunshots.
He said he did not believe the shooting was real until he heard an officer yelling at someone to put down their gun. He said when his class was led out, he saw officers shielding what appeared to be an injured student.
First responders gather at Apalachee High School. Pic: ABC Affiliate WSB via Reuters
Ashley Enoh was at home on Wednesday morning when she got a text from her brother, who is a senior at Apalachee High.
The message said: “Just so you know, I love you.”
When she asked in the family group chat what was going on, he said there was a gunman at the school.
The shooting sparked a stampede, according to local media reports.
The Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith initially told reporters: “Multiple people were wounded in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder”.
Students and staff gather next to the football field after the shooting. Pic: ABC Affiliate WSB via REUTERS
He described the investigation as “very, very fluid” and it was in the early stages.
“What you see behind us is an evil thing today,” Sheriff Smith said.
“I want to give our sympathies to our community, our school system, our kids, our parents that had to witness this today.”
US President Joe Biden, who has been briefed on the incident, said in a statement he and his wife, Jill “are mourning the deaths” and said: “What should have been a joyous back-to-school season in Winder, Georgia, has now turned into another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart.
“Students across the country are learning how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We cannot continue to accept this as normal.”
Mr Biden urged Republicans to work with Democrats to pass “common-sense gun safety legislation.”
As the incident unfolded, Governor Brian Kemp said: “I have directed all available state resources to respond to the incident at Apalachee High School and urge all Georgians to join my family in praying for the safety of those in our classrooms, both in Barrow County and across the state.”
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Federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and ATF, are on the scene.
The shooting was the first “planned attack” of the new school year in the US, David Reidman, who runs the K-12 School Shooting Database, said.
Apalachee High School, which had an enrollment of nearly 1,900 last year, began classes on 1 August.
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