Boy, 14, charged with killing four in US school shooting / Photo: © AFP
Boy, 14, charged with killing four in US school shooting
A 14-year-old boy has been charged with shooting four people dead at a US high school, authorities said Thursday, adding that their investigation into the country's latest outburst of gun violence is ongoing.
The suspected shooter -- also a student at the school -- is accused of killing two fellow pupils, also aged 14, as well as two teachers at the Apalachee High School in the southern state of Georgia on Wednesday.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation had said he would be charged as an adult. On Thursday it said that he would appear in court on Friday, and that additional charges are expected.
"The investigation into the shooting at Apalachee HS is still active & ongoing," the agency said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"This is day 2 of a very complex investigation & the integrity of the case is paramount," it continued, adding that all four victims would be autopsied on Thursday.
School shootings are a shockingly regular occurrence in the United States, where guns outnumber people and regulations on purchasing even powerful military-style rifles are lax.
Parental responsibility in such attacks, particularly by minors, has come increasingly under the spotlight in recent months.
"How could you have an assault rifle in a house, not locked up and knowing your kid knows where it is ... We've got to hold parents accountable if they let their child have access to these guns," lamented President Joe Biden on Thursday.
In April the parents of a teenager who also killed four people in a school shooting, in Michigan, were sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison, in an unprecedented and closely watched case.
Jennifer Crumbley, 46, and her husband James, 47, were the first parents of a school shooter convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the United States for the actions of their child.
Polls show a majority of voters favor stricter controls on the use and purchase of firearms, but the powerful gun ownership lobby is opposed to additional restrictions and lawmakers have repeatedly failed to act.
(L.Garnier--LPdF)
