Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith told reporters on Wednesday afternoon local time there were “multiple injuries” as a result of the shooting but that he probably wouldn’t be releasing more information before 4pm, when he hoped to hold a news conference.
He asked for patience from the community as they continue to investigate.
“This is going to take multiple days for us to get answers,” Smith said.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens (D) wrote on social media that his prayers were “with the high school students, staff, and families affected by the act of violence in Winder, Georgia”. He added in a thread that he has been in touch with Atlanta police to “bolster patrols around our schools for the rest of the day out of an abundance of caution”.
Winder, is about 56km northeast of Atlanta, and it’s a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. The city is home to about 29,500 people, according to 2020 census data. It’s known for its 734-ha Fort Yargo State Park and its historic railroad.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R) posted on social media that he has sent “all available state resources” to the school and urged “all Georgians to join my family in praying for the safety of those in our classrooms”.
President Joe Biden wrote in a statement that he was mourning those slain by “more senseless gun violence” and thinking of the survivors.
“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,” he wrote.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called on Congress to pass gun-control legislation following the shooting.
“We need to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require safe storage of firearms, invest in violence prevention programmes and pass a national red-flag law,” Jean-Pierre told reporters. It was not immediately clear what kind of weapon was used in Wednesday’s shooting.
Later, she added: “We cannot allow this to happen in our communities. We cannot allow this to happen in our schools.”
Vice-President Kamala Harris was briefed on the shooting before leaving Joint Base Andrews in Washington, according to a White House official. She will continue to receive updates as authorities gather more information, the official said.
Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz addressed the school shooting while meeting with campaign volunteers.
“This is tragic. We don’t know any of the details on it yet, but it’s a situation that’s all too common, and our hearts are out there right now,” he said.
He said work needed to be done to prevent such shootings in the future.
