A teacher who survived being gunned down by the Apalachee High School shooter almost two weeks ago has spoken out about the deadly attack.
David Phenix was shot during the attack on September 4 that left two students and two teachers dead at the school near Winder, Georgia. Finally well enough to return home, he has now released a statement on Facebook describing how a fellow teacher and two young students came to his aid by pressurizing his wound and calling for help.
Police have charged 14-yar-old suspect Colt Gray with murder and he will be tried as an adult. Detectives allege he hid a weapon in his backpack to sneak it into the school building. His father, Colin Gray, 54, was also arrested in connection with the attack after police accused him of giving his son the assault-style rifle as a Christmas gift; he has been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children. The alleged gift of the deadly weapon came after police had interviewed both father and son in May 2023 amid online threats to shoot up a middle school, with no further action taken by officers at the time.
Students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both just 14, and math teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39 and Christina Irimie, 53, were all killed during the attack. Eight other students and Phenix, who provides curriculum assistance at the school, were injured.
Students embrace near a makeshift memorial at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on September 5, 2024. A teacher who survived being gunned down at the school almost two weeks ago has spoken out about the deadly attack.
Jessica McGowan/Getty Images
Phenix’s daughter, Katie Phenix, later identified her father as being one of the surviving victims. She said he was shot in the foot and the side, “shattering his hip bone,” but that his family felt “so, so lucky” that he had escaped with his life.
She continued to post news from his hospital bedside as he underwent grueling surgeries and said he was “in a lot of pain.” She added: “After waking up, some of the first words out of his mouth were, ‘Is everyone else okay?’. I think that speaks volumes to the type of man he is— always putting others first, no matter his personal situation.” The post was accompanied by a photo of her dad in happier times, with his beloved dog Bailey at his feet.
She announced Phenix had been deemed well enough to leave the Intensive Care Unit on Friday, and then in a subsequent update on her Facebook page revealed her dad was home. A photo showed him lying on a sofa covered in a blanket with Bailey lying on top of him.
David is HOME! 🏠💕Still lots of healing to do, but now he can do it with Bailey by his side.We have had tons of people reach out about coming to visit Dad, which we LOVE! Please keep in mind that…
“Still lots of healing to do, but now he can do it with Bailey by his side,” she wrote.
Family and friends were desperate to visit him, she said, but added: “Please keep in mind that we are still resting, healing, and processing […] We are so thankful for the community that has and will continue to support us through this time.”
Over the weekend, David Phenix felt well enough to post about his own experiences on Facebook.
Before being caught up in the tragedy, his last post on Facebook had been some happy snaps of Italy as he enjoyed a trip to Rome in July. But tragedy was around the corner, after he started the new school year in September.
“The images, sights, sounds, and actions are immense and will be forever etched in my memory and will take weeks, months, and even years to process,” he wrote. “The pangs of sorrow and grief for the families of Ricky, Christina, Mason, and Christian stay at the forefront of everything.”
He also described the various challenges he knows lie ahead of him.
“For me, there is both a physical and mental road back to some degree to normalcy. Physically, there are stitches, staples, and bandages to be removed and physical therapy to be endured,” he wrote. “I was incredibly blessed that the bullet that went into my side and the one that entered my foot managed to miss every vital ligament, tendon, bone, and organ. Had things been a quarter inch to the left or right, things could have been vastly different. Mentally, will be just as challenging. I am sure trying to truly wrap my brain around what happened on September 4th will require just as much rehab.”
To put into words the events of these past days escape all description. The images, sights, sounds, and actions are immense and will be forever etched in my memory and will take weeks, months, and…
He then went on to pay tribute to those who helped him, including the first responders, police, doctors, and nurses. And he expressed particular gratitude to “those who, in the course of all the chaos, found it in themselves to take my life in their hands: To Valerie Lancaster, the Math teacher that I co-teach with who managed to put pressure on my wound while, at same time, managing and calming a class of 23 scared, terrified, and panicked teenagers. To 2 fourteen-year-old students who filled in for Ms. Lancaster and pressurized my wound while Valerie called for help. You both are exceptional young people and have my everlasting gratitude.”
He also thanked his family, including his two daughters, Katie and Ansley, and then addressed his wife Leesa, saying: “You were my rock who never wavers and never left my side. I have never known anyone who cares with all her heart and loves at the deepest levels. I truly do not know where I would be had you not been by my side throughout every inch of this whole recovery. I love you from the deepest parts of my heart.”
He signed off by saying: “Thanks to all of you so much and God Bless!”
