BETHLEHEM, Ga. — Apalachee assistant football coach Ricky Aspinwall was one of four people killed on Wednesday at Apalachee High School.
Aspinwall, 39, served as the Wildcats' defensive coordinator beginning in 2023 and through their first three games of the 2024 season. Aspinwall came to Apalachee from Mountain View in Gwinnett County when Mike Hancock was hired in the spring of 2023. He also had coached at Dunwoody High School before his time at Mountain View.
Apalachee plays in the same Region 8-5A with northeast Georgia area teams Habersham Central and Jackson County. The Wildcats recently had played Cherokee Bluff in Hall County, with the Bears taking a 49-7 win on Sept. 23.
Three other people also were killed on Wednesday morning when 14-year-old Colt Gray opened fire on the school. Christina Irimie, 53 (Teacher), Mason Shermerhorn, 14 (Student), and Christian Angulo, 14 (Student) also were killed by Gray. Nine others also were injured in the shooting.
The Wildcats were scheduled to play Monroe Area on Friday at home but that game has been canceled. There was no word on if that game would be made up later in the season. Barrow County Schools Superintendent Dr. Dallas LeDuff told media on Wednesday that classes will be canceled for the entire school system for the remainder of the week.
