Four people -- two students and two teachers -- were killed in a shooting at a high school in Georgia on Wednesday that left several others injured and sparked panic at the start of a new school year, officials said.

The suspected shooter, a 14-year-old boy, is in custody, authorities said. Officials said he will be tried as an adult.

"Four dead. An additional nine taken to various hospitals with injuries," the Georgia Bureau of Investigation wrote on social media. "Suspect in custody and alive. Reports that the suspect has been ‘neutralized’ are inaccurate."

“What you see behind us is an evil thing,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said at a brief news conference outside the school.

Helicopter video from WSB-TV showed dozens of law enforcement and emergency vehicles surrounding the school in Barrow County, about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta.

The school shooting was just the latest among dozens across the U.S. in recent years, including especially deadly ones in Newtown, Connecticut, Parkland, Florida, and Uvalde, Texas. The classroom killings have set off fervent debates about gun control and frayed the nerves of parents whose children are growing up accustomed to active shooter drills in classrooms. But they have done little to move the needle on national gun laws.

Before Wednesday’s shooting, there had been 29 mass killings in the U.S. so far this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. At least 127 people have died in those killings, which are defined as incidents in which four or more people die within a 24-hour period, not including the killer — the same definition used by the FBI.

Last year ended with 217 deaths from 42 mass killings in the U.S., making 2023 one of the deadliest years on record in the country.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement: “This is a day every parent dreads, and Georgians everywhere will hug their children tighter this evening because of this painful event.”

President Joe Biden mourned the victims of the shooting and called for Congress to pass what he called "common-sense gun safety legislation."

"What should have been a joyous back-to-school season in Winder, Georgia, has now turned into another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart," Biden said. "Students across the country are learning how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We cannot continue to accept this as normal."

"Ending this gun violence epidemic is personal to me," Biden continued. "It’s why I signed into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act – the most meaningful gun safety bill in decades – and have announced dozens of gun safety executive actions. I also established the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, overseen by Vice President Harris. We’ve made significant progress, but this crisis requires even more."
 
"After decades of inaction, Republicans in Congress must finally say ‘enough is enough’ and work with Democrats to pass common-sense gun safety legislation," the president added. "We must ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines once again, require safe storage of firearms, enact universal background checks, and end immunity for gun manufacturers. These measures will not bring those who were tragically killed today back, but it will help prevent more tragic gun violence from ripping more families apart."

In a statement, the FBI's Atlanta office said: “FBI Atlanta is aware of the current situation at Apalachee High School in Barrow County. Our agents are on scene coordinating with and supporting local law enforcement.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a news conference on Wednesday that "FBI and ATF are on the scene working with state, local and federal partners."

Garland added that he is "devastated for the families who have been affected by this terrible tragedy" and the Justice Department "stands ready to provide any resources or support that the Winder community needs in the days ahead."

Vice President Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, called the shooting "outrageous" at an event in New Hampshire.

"Our hearts are with all the students, the teachers, and their families, of course, and we are grateful to the first responders and the law enforcement that were on the scene, but this is just a senseless tragedy on top of so many senseless tragedies," she said. "And it's just outrageous that every day in our country, in the United States of America, that parents have to send their children to school worried about whether or not their child will come home alive.

"It's senseless," she continued. "We've got to stop it. And we have to end this epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all. You know, it doesn't have to be this way. It doesn't have to be this way."

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, honored the victims of the shooting in a post on social media.

"Our hearts are with the victims and loved ones of those affected by the tragic event in Winder, GA," Trump wrote. "These cherished children were taken from us far too soon by a sick and deranged monster."

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, called the situation at the school "tragic."

"We don't know any of the details on it yet, but it's a situation that's all too common and our hearts are out there right now, but our work needs to do to prevent these in the future, as we know, “ Walz told a group of Democratic volunteers in Pennsylvania during a campaign stop. “So I know it's a little bit of a heavy heart for all of us, if you think about it, but it's the work you're doing."

Calls and messages to the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office and the school were not immediately returned.

Apalachee High School has about 1,900 students, according to records from Georgia education officials. It became Barrow County's second largest public high school when it opened in 2000, according to the Barrow County School System. It’s named after the Apalachee River on the southern edge of Barrow County.

The shooting had reverberations in Atlanta, where patrols of schools in that city were beefed up, authorities said. More patrols of Atlanta schools would be done “for the rest of the day out of an abundance of caution,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.