Student Quit Sports, Switched Schools After Classroom Shooting

Описание: Marques Coleman moved to a new school after he survived the Sept. 4, 20024, shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia.

He testified in the criminal trial of the suspect's father today (Tuesday, February 17) as one of several former students of math teacher Cassie Ryan. (You can watch Ms. Ryan's testimony here:    • Teacher Testifies About Gunman Shooting St...  )

01:32 "I was just doing my work, and then I looked to the left, and then the doors just opened. And then he started, the dude started shooting, and then I got up and ran behind my teacher desk. And then I was just hiding. And then I heard screams. Everybody was just screaming, well, my ears went blank for a little bit because, like, the shots were like, so loud."

"And then I was behind the teacher's desk. And then after he got done shooting, I went, I got up, and then I went to the the other teacher's desk, and then that's it."

02:10 "Did you know the person who was shooting?"
"No, ma'am."

"Do you remember how long did it feel like the shooting went on for?"
"Probably about like 30 or 40 seconds."
"And about how long did it feel like before law enforcement arrived?"
"Maybe like five minutes, seven minutes."
"What was everybody doing in that time before law enforcement was able to make it to y'all?"
"Everybody was just like, screaming, panicking on the phone with their parents, trying to call their parents."

03:15 "Did you go back to Apalachee High School after the shooting?"
"No, ma'am."
"Why not?"
"Because I was scared."

03:58 "Every time I'm in the classroom, that's all I be thinking about."

04:19 "It's just like after, after that happened, I just like lost love for sports. I didn't want to do do it anymore."
"Okay, so you dropped out of the sports you were playing?"
"Yes, ma'am."

Background:

A gunman killed two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on September 4, 2024. Eight students and one teacher were injured.

The victims were Mason Schermerhorn, 14; Christian Angulo, 14; Richard Aspinwall, 39 and a math teacher and defensive coordinator for the school's football team; and Cristina Irimie, 53 and a math teacher.

Colin Gray's oldest son, Colt Gray, is awaiting trial on 55 charges, including counts of murder and aggravated assault.

The father's charges include involuntary manslaughter, second-degree murder and cruelty to children. Prosecutors say he gave his son the rifle used in the shooting as a Christmas gift, despite being told by law enforcement to keep guns away from him.

Jury selection was moved from Barrow County to Hall County because of extensive pretrial publicity in Barrow County, but the trial is being held in Winder. Nicholas Primm, the chief judge in Georgia's Piedmont Judicial Circuit, is presiding.

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