“Very sweet and so caring.” The “sweetest, most loving soul.” A “beloved” teacher and wife. A protector of his students.
The loved ones of the four victims who died in a shooting at a Georgia high school on Wednesday are remembering them on Thursday, as the community reels from the fatal attack that also injured nine others.
Apalachee High School math teachers Richard Aspinwall and Cristina Irimie and 14-year-old students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo were killed in the first major school shooting of the new academic year. (Spellings of the names have not been confirmed by authorities.)
“This is home for me. I was born and raised here. I went to school in this school system. My kids go to this school system,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said Wednesday, speaking outside the high school. “My heart hurts for these kids. My heart hurts for our community.”
Eight students and one teacher were injured in the shooting and were taken to various area hospitals surrounding Barrow County, about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta. They are all expected to recover, officials said Wednesday.
The shooter, a 14-year-old student, surrendered immediately after police arrived at the school following reports of an active shooter. He will be charged with murder and tried as an adult, officials said.
Since the start of 2024, there have been 23 school shootings that resulted in injuries or deaths, according to an Education Week analysis. There have been 205 such shootings since EdWeek began tracking those data in 2018.
The community held a candlelight vigil at a local park Wednesday night for the slain students and teachers. Classes were canceled for the remainder of the week, and grief counselors are being made available.
Fundraisers have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the families of the victims.
Here’s what we know so far about the four victims.
Christian Angulo, 14
Christian Angulo, a 14-year-old freshman at Apalachee, was described as a “very good kid and very sweet and so caring,” by his sister, Lisette Angulo, in a GoFundMe raising money for his funeral expenses.
“He was so loved by many. His loss is so sudden and unexpected,” she wrote. “We are truly heartbroken.. He really didn’t deserve this.”
Richard Aspinwall, 39
Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall, a 39-year-old math teacher who served as the defensive coordinator for Apalachee’s football team, “lost his life protecting his students,” wrote the organizer of a GoFundMe set up to support his family. Aspinwall leaves behind two young children and his wife.
“We will carry you heavy in our hearts,” Apalachee Football posted on X. “We love you Coach A!!!”
Aspinwall previously coached at Mountain View High School in Lawrenceville, Ga., and at Dunwoody High School in DeKalb County, Ga., according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Cristina Irimie, 53
Nicolae Clempus’ first memory of Cristina Irimie was her dancing.
The 53-year-old math teacher was then a young Romanian traditional dancer. Clempus first saw Irimie, 23 years ago, at a Romanian festival when he first moved to the United States from Romania.
“Even when she danced, she was radiating happiness,” Clempus, who is the priest at Saint Mary Romanian Orthodox Church in Dacula, Ga.
He recalls her as joyful. She was volunteering with the church. After she stopped dancing herself, she became an instructor for the dance group at the church, sharing her talent with children. She spent time offering math tutoring lessons to children.
“She’s going to be remembered through all these things,” he said. “We will remember her smile, remember her dedication. Her example for serving.”
She was a “beloved teacher, wife, daughter and friend,” wrote the organizer of a fundraiser for her family. The funds will help with funeral expenses and other support for the family.
“She dedicated her life to shaping the minds and hearts of students and the community,” the organizer wrote. “To honor her legacy, we are coming together to help her family during this tragic time.”
Mason Schermerhorn, 14
Fourteen-year-old Mason Schermerhorn, a freshman, was “the sweetest most loving soul with the biggest smile and will be missed dearly,” wrote the organizer of another fundraiser. His photo had been circulated widely when his family couldn’t reach him after the shooting, WSB-TV reported.
The funds will support the family.
“Please keep this sweet family in your prayers and help out if you can,” the organizer wrote.
