Kirby Smart reacts to Apalachee High School shooting, football coach among four victims: 'It's just horrific'

Tragedy struck in Georgia on Wednesday when a school shooter claimed the lives of four people at Apalachee High School — two teachers and two students — and sent the masses into chaos.

A 14-year-old student brought an assault-style rifle to school and opened fire on his peers and teachers, putting the school with an enrollment of about 1,900 squarely in the national spotlight.

Georgia football coach Kirby Smart could hardly believe the news as it trickled in.

“News started popping yesterday morning pretty early and you never think it’s going to hit near you and then it does,” Smart said, according to a report from DawgsHQ. “I was at a football game there less than three weeks ago, at that same stadium they were all in, a middle school game.

“Just praying for all the people there, the community, the law enforcement, the families that lost people. A young coach with a wife and two kids, it’s just horrific to think about. But our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Barrow County and Apalachee High School.”

One of the victims was the school’s defensive coordinator, Ricky Aspinwall. Fondly referred to as ‘Coach A’ by his students, Aspinwall was a 39-year-old math teacher at the school.

“Waking up today… is a blessing to never be taken for granted again,” wrote the football program on its Facebook page. “Apalachee is not just our school it’s our home, it’s our community. Our team is crushed by the loss of Coach A. They are devastated knowing this happened at their school. Some of us knew the other victims and some of us didn’t but nonetheless they were Wildcats, they were family. Please pray for all the victims’ families. Yesterday was a horrific day at Apalachee and every single Wildcat was affected by this tragedy. … Please pray for our Wildcat family!”

The other three victims were teacher Christina Irimie and 14-year-old students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo.

Apalachee is about an hour’s drive to the northeast from Atlanta. At least nine other people, in addition to the four that were fatally shot, were wounded in the incident.

All were taken to hospitals with injuries but are expected to survive, according to a report from the Associated Press.

The alleged gunman was apprehended when two Apalachee High School resource officers encountered him just minutes after the report of shots fired went out. The suspect surrendered and was taken into custody, ending the threat.

But his surrender won’t take away the damage done or the lives lost, as the community of Apalachee High School now tries to pick up the pieces.

For Smart, the day’s events were a stark reminder.

“Scary,” Smart said. “Scary for us all.”