A man opened fire at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, a few miles from Atlanta.
Local authorities said four people were killed and nine were taken to a hospital with injuries. The dead included two students and two teachers.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the suspect in the attack is 14-year-old student Colt Gray, who is in custody and has been charged with murder.
As television broadcast images of chaos and security deployment at the school, police said students were meeting their families on the school’s football field before what they described as a “brutal” attack.
A large number of police forces were seen at the scene, including emergency personnel and a helicopter.
In a brief appearance before the media, the county sheriff, Judd Smith, said that “it will take us several days to figure out what happened and why it happened.”
US President Joe Biden was briefed on the situation and issued a statement saying that he “mourns the deaths”, which he attributed to “more senseless violence”.
“What should have been a joyous return to school in Winder, Georgia, has turned into another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart,” said the president, who once again called on Congress to impose more restrictions on access to and use of weapons.
Biden said, “We can no longer take this for granted.”
Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris said the shootings were a tragedy, “one of many senseless tragedies.” “We must end this epidemic of gun violence in this country once and for all,” Harris said at a rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said: “Our hearts go out to the victims and everyone affected.” “These sweet children were taken from us by a sick and deranged monster,” Trump said.
Testimony from families of students who attended the school revealed the pain they suffered.
Shirley Powers, the grandmother of one of the children, told NBC News that her daughter called her from work panicked and screamed that “there was a shooter” at the school. “She was telling me to get there as quickly as possible,” Powers said.
Local Atlanta television station WSB-TV spoke to a woman who said the teacher locked herself in with her son and other students as gunfire rang out around them.
