WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — The U.S. House of Representatives chamber filled with silence for 30 seconds to pay tribute to the four people who were killed, nine others who were hospitalized and a heartbroken community after a mass shooting at Apalachee High last week.
Georgia Rep. Mike Collins gave remarks before asking the entire chamber to join him in the tribute to the community.
"It's been a rough year in the 10th District of Georgia. You know, we started out the year with the brutal and heinous murder of Laken Riley over at the University of Georgia, and then last Wednesday at the Apalachee High out in Barrow County, we had an active shooter enter the school," he said.
Collins then continued naming each of the shooting victims that were killed:
"Speaker, I ask that our colleagues join us in a moment of silence to reflect and remember those people who lost their lives and their families and those people who are still healing from this incident," Collins added.
The chamber floor was then filled with somber stillness.
The tribute comes as Democratic lawmakers in the Georgia Legislature are pushing for more gun laws to be passed. The lawmakers even asked Gov. Brian Kemp to open a special session.
Kemp has continued to say that the immediate aftermath of this tragedy is not the time for politics.
Collins also mentioned the death of nursing student Laken Riley.
Riley's death sparked a nationwide conversation about immigration after prosecutors accused Venezuelan immigrant Jose Ibarra, who allegedly entered the country illegally, of killing her.
More on the Apalachee High School shooting
The GBI said deputies with the Barrow County Sheriff's Office responded minutes after reports of an active shooter at 10:20 a.m. and encountered the suspect, who "immediately surrendered to these officers, and he was taken into custody."
Following the deadly shooting on Wednesday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested 14-year-old Colt Gray and charged him with four counts of felony murder. Colt Gray was booked by the Barrow County Sheriff's Office, where he had his mugshot taken.
"Obviously, the shooter was armed, and our school resource officer engaged him, and the shooter quickly realized that if he did not give up, it would end with an OIS (officer-involved shooting)," Sheriff Jud Smith said, describing how the suspect was taken into custody. "He gave up, got on the ground, and the (officer) took him into custody."
On Thursday, a day after the deadly shooting, the GBI arrested 54-year-old Colin Gray and charged him with two counts of second-degree murder, four counts of involuntary manslaughter and eight counts of child cruelty -- which are related to the eight children hospitalized by gunshot wounds.
In warrants obtained by 11Alive through the Barrow County Sheriff's Office, new details reveal he knowingly supplied an AR-15-style weapon to his son Colt Gray despite “knowing he posed a danger to himself and others.”
According to prosecutors, the next legal step in the process will be a grand jury hearing scheduled for Oct. 17. This closed-door proceeding will determine the next phase of the charges. Smith emphasized that while new charges against Colt Gray are certain, charges against Colin Gray may depend on the outcome of the investigation.
Apalachee High School is located on Haymon Morris Road, just outside the city limits of Winder in Barrow County, Georgia. The school is part of the Barrow County School District, which also includes nearby schools such as Haymon Morris Middle School, Yargo Elementary School, and Cadence Academy Preschool.
