One Georgia student had a very close call during a mass shooting at Apalachee High School. He described barely avoiding the shooter.
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"I thought I was going to die," the unnamed 10th-grader described to 11Alive. The 10th-grader is reflecting on his close call with death in the aftermath of the mass shooting. He says that he needed to go to the bathroom. However, he ultimately decided not to go at the time. It's a decision that probably saved his life as a result.
If he had went to the bathroom then he would likely have been out in the halls when the shooting occurred. The 10th-grader said the mass shooting happened moments later.
"I was going to go to the bathroom right before it happened," he said. "And I'm so glad I didn't because I'd probably be dead right now if I did."
Mass Shooting Gunman's Identity Revealed
Authorities have confirmed that the alleged shooter is 14-year-old Colt Gray. The teen is a student at the same high school. Ultimately, he ended up surrendering to authorities. The sheriff said that the shooter realized authorities were going to kill him.
"Obviously the shooter was armed, and our school resource officer engaged him and the shooter quickly realized that if he did not give up, that it would end with an OIS (officer-involved shooting)," Sheriff Smith said. "He gave up, got on the ground and the (officer) took him into custody."
The sheriff confirmed that they're interrogating the alleged shooter.
"The shooter was interviewed, speaking with investigators earlier, along with the GBI," Sheriff Smith said. "It is helping our investigation."
The sheriff added about the mass shooting, "This hits home for me, I was born and raised here, I went to school in this school system, my kids go to this school system. I'm proud of this school system, my heart hurts for these kids, my heart hurts for our community -- but I wanna make it very clear that hate will not prevail in this county. I want that to be very clear and known, love will prevail over what happened today. I assure you of that."
