Five Questions to Ask in the Wake of the Apalachee High School Mass Shooting in Winder, Georgia

For Release: Wednesday, September 4, 2024

Demand Answers About the Weapons Used and How They Were Procured

Washington, DC — In the wake of our nation’s most recent mass shooting at a public school, this time at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, it is vital that the media, policymakers, and general public demand answers about the firearms (or firearm) used by the alleged perpetrator and how the guns (or gun) were procured.

Five specific questions to ask include:

1–What type of firearms were used in the attack and what is the make and model of each weapon?

2–What capacity and number of ammunition magazines were used in the shooting?

3–Were the weapons acquired legally, what was the source, and did the shooter have a concealed carry permit?

4–How many other mass shootings are known to have been committed with the same make/model of firearms?

5–How are the guns marketed by the manufacturers?

“Mass shootings in our schools have gone from almost unthinkable to virtually inevitable,” states Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center, “Yet all too often, in the wake of such attacks, limited attention is paid to the actual weapons used to perpetrate them and how they were procured. That is why the Violence Policy Center has prepared five questions for the media, policymakers, and the public to ask about the firearms used in our nation’s unending plague of mass shootings.”

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The Violence Policy Center is a national educational organization working to stop gun death and injury. Follow the VPC on X/TwitterFacebook, and Instagram.

Media Contact:
Georgia Seltzer
(202) 822-8200 x104
gseltzer@vpc.org