During a press conference Wednesday night, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Rosey confirmed to reporters that four people were killed in the shooting at Apalachee High School earlier Wednesday. Two were students and two were teachers at the school, Rosey said. Nine others were hospitalized with injuries.

Rosey also confirmed that the suspect is a 14-year-old Apalachee student named Colt Gray, who is alive and in police custody. He said Gray “will be charged with murder and will be treated as an adult.”

“Our priority in this investigation right now is to gather all the facts,” Rosey said. “This is still a very active investigation.”

“I never thought in my career that I would be talking to the media about something that happened today — pure evil that happened today,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith told reporters, a little hotly. “I want to make it very clear that hate will not prevail in this county.”

Smith said the sheriff’s office had spoken to Gray and been in contact with his family, but he did not elaborate on what came of those conversations. Smith said they “had not identified” the weapon at this time.

The school principal said schools in Barrow County would remain closed for the rest of the week.

At around 10:20 a.m. ET, officers from multiple agencies and emergency personnel were dispatched to the school after reports of an active shooter. About an hour later, the school was evacuated and students were taken to their families. Police and emergency responders were seen on campus, with at least two people being put on helicopters to be flown to hospitals, local news channel WSB-TV reported.

The FBI’s Atlanta office also said it was cooperating with the investigation into the events at the school.

School officials and the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Yahoo News requests for comment.

A 17-year-old student told ABC News that he was in chemistry class when he heard gunshots. He said his chemistry teacher locked the door while the rest of the class gathered in the back. The student said he heard gunshots and screams, and at one point someone banged on the classroom door and yelled “open up” several times. The student and his class were later evacuated to the soccer field.

One student told a Fox 5 Atlanta reporter that he initially thought the gunshots were fake until he heard screams. He described being evacuated from the building and seeing a body in one of the rooms. “There was a gun on the floor with the bullets and the blood,” he said.

“They prepare you for these kinds of things,” a 15-year-old girl told the New York Times. “But at that point I started crying. I got nervous.”

President Biden released a statement following the shooting, saying: “What should have been a joyous start to the school year in Winder, Georgia, has now turned into yet another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart. Students across the country are being taught how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We can no longer accept this as business as usual.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, campaigning in New Jersey on Wednesday, called the shooting “a senseless tragedy on top of so many senseless tragedies.”

In a post on Truth Social, former President Donald Trump called the shooting “tragic” and the suspect “sick and deranged.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters he was “devastated” by the “terrible tragedy.”

“We are still gathering information, but the FBI and ATF are on the ground and working with partners at the state, local and federal levels,” Garland said. “The Department of Justice stands ready to provide resources or support to the needs of the Winder community in the coming days.”

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp wrote on X: “I have deployed all available state resources to respond to the incident at Apalachee High School and urge all Georgians to join my family in praying for the safety of those in our classrooms, both in Barrow County and across the state. We continue to work with local, state, and federal partners as we gather information and further respond to this situation.”

This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.