Churches near the Winder, Ga., school where four people were shot and killed Wednesday say they are reaching out to the community and that their congregations have many ties to the school. A 14-year-old has been charged with fatally shooting two students and two teachers while also wounding nine others at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., about an hour northeast of Atlanta. The students were Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn, both 14, and Christina Irimie, a math teacher, and Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall, an assistant football coach.
The suspected gunman is 14-year-old Colt Gray, who previously was investigated by law enforcement for allegedly threatening a shooting, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
More than $200,000 was raised in less than 24 hours on GoFundMe to assist the surviving family members.
Bethlehem Church, located in Winder about three miles from the school, has “numerous members connected to Apalachee High, including students, teachers, and coaches,” according to Baptist Press, the news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.
“God is close to the brokenhearted, and we want to communicate that,” pastor Jason Britt told Baptist Press. “We live in a world of evil and brokenness. This is a sober reminder that we see it up close. But our hope is in the Gospel, which we believe is a rescue from pain.”
First Baptist Church in Winder has several students who attend the school. None were killed or injured.
“It’s going to be hard, and I don’t think we’ll ever be the same,” First Winder Minister of Students Mitch Norman told Baptist Press. “It’s like our entire outlook changed in a matter of minutes as a church and community.
“It hurts. All our plans over the next year will probably be altered or changed entirely. And that’s OK; that’s what God calls us to do, so we are just taking it a minute at a time right now and just listening and grieving with our people.”
As of Thursday morning, fundraisers on GoFundMe had brought in $118,000 for Aspinwall’s widow and children (link), $60,000 for Angulo’s family (link), $35,000 for Schermerhorn’s family (link) and $13,000 for Irimie’s family (link). (The campaigns for Schermerhorn and Irimie were launched after the first two fundraisers.)
“We are coming together,” one of the fundraisers said.
Christian leaders urged prayer for the families.
“Join me in praying especially for those who lost loved ones & for those injured in this senseless act of evil,” evangelist Franklin Graham said. “May God’s hand of comfort be on them.”
News reports say 4 people died & some 30 were injured in a shooting at Apalachee High School in GA. Join me in praying especially for those who lost loved ones & for those injured in this senseless act of evil. May God’s hand of comfort be on them. https://t.co/qOiEi5FBpQ
— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) September 4, 2024
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Jessica McGowan/Stringer
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.