Apalachee High School teacher says his first instinct was to find a weapon

BARROW COUNTY, Ga. — An Apalachee High School teacher told Channel 2 Action News that active shooting response training came into play during Wednesday’s school shooting that left at least four people dead and nine injured.

Stephen Kreyenbuhl, a 10th grade world history teacher, said students and faculty train for these situations at least twice a year.

“We train every semester for these situations so my first instinct was I need a weapon, I need to protect my students,” Kreyenbuhl said. “I got everybody to the corner, turned off the lights, just kinda held everybody tight and just said, ‘Wait for everything to happen, everything to pass.’”

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Kreyenbuhl said that after about an hour, police evacuated his class to the football field.

“I needed to be strong for, you know, the 15-, 16-year-olds that don’t really know what’s going on or, you know, have the proper training for it -- or just know to process something like this,” he explained. “It’s weird because, like, knowing as a teacher, I always knew this was a possibility. I never thought it would happen to me personally.”

The suspected shooter has been identified as 14-year-old Colt Gray, who has been charged with murder and will be handled as an adult, according to the GBI.

The FBI confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that Gray had been investigated for making school shooting threats last year, but there was not probable cause to arrest him.

RELATED STORIES:

• LIVE UPDATES: GA officials say Colt Gray, Apalachee High School suspect, at youth detention center
• Apalachee school shooting suspect in custody at Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center
• GEORGIA SCHOOL SHOOTING: What we know about the victims

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Gov. Kemp, GBI director, Barrow County sheriff provide update on Apalachee High School shooting

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