Sheriff: Students returning to Apalachee High is 'huge step' for healing, after shooting

ATLANTAS — Apalachee High School students returned to the Barrow County campus for the first time Monday after police say a 14-year-old student shot and killed four people at the school on Sept. 4.

Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith called the return “a huge step for us healing” in a briefing with reporters ahead of an open house for students.

“Unfortunately our most vulnerable were attacked — our kids and our teachers,” he said. “But what evil did not plan for was the resiliency and the strength that they have.”

Smith did not take questions from reporters.

The school district closed all schools for three days after the shooting, and every other school except for Apalachee High resumed classes Sept. 10. The high school had about 1,900 students last school year, more than any school in Barrow, according to state data.

The school has planned a “phased return,” meaning students will attend school for shortened days until mid-October.

There will be other changes when students return. The hall where the shooting took place will be closed for the remainder of the school year, so social studies classes will be held in another building a few miles away, the school district website says. Some in the Apalachee community have raised concerns that moving social studies classes separates students from their classmates.

The district planned to have an increase in law enforcement presence along with additional counselors, therapy dogs, and other resources available at the school. Some members of the community are calling for stricter security measures, including options for students to temporarily take classes remotely, a clear bag policy and placing metal detectors at the school.

“Understand that there are safety measures in place, and just because you cannot see them doesn’t mean they’re not there,” Smith said Monday.