Episode Details

LISTEN: On the Monday, Sept. 9 edition of Georgia Today: New revelations about last week's Apalachee High School shooting have some asking if the tragedy could've been prevented; the Savannah school system adopts maps to help first responders during active shooter scenarios; and residents hurt by Tropical Storm Debby ask why their homes weren't included on FEMA flood maps.

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Monday, Sept. 9. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, new revelations about last week's Apalachee High School shooting have some asking if the tragedy could have been prevented. The Savannah school system adopts maps to help first responders during active shooter scenarios, and residents hurt by Tropical Storm Debby ask why their homes weren't included on FEMA flood maps. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: The aunt of the 14-year-old boy who is accused of killing four people at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., last week, says the boy's mother warned the school of a, quote, "extreme emergency" before the killings occurred. Annie Brown confirmed with the Associated Press conversations first reported by The Washington Post, in which the suspect's mother urged the school to immediately find her son. Reports indicate that efforts to find him were initially unsuccessful. The news of the apparent warning has caused outrage among some in the Winder, Ga., community. The mother of one Apalachee High School student says the warnings demonstrate how preventable the shooting was. Rebecca Sayarath told the AP yesterday that the school, quote, "failed its students," but others, including Georgia U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, are declining to blame school or law enforcement officials.

Raphael Warnock: I'm not going to, you know, referee or — or second-guess what happened with the authorities the other night. I applaud our first responders. When others are running away from danger, they run toward the danger in order to do the best they can.

Peter Biello: Warnock made those comments on CNN yesterday.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: Meanwhile, state officials are mobilizing a response to help the high school's community members in mourning. GPB's Chase McGee reports the Barrow County Community Recovery Center opened today in Winder.

Chase McGee: The Georgia Emergency Management Agency opened the center to help meet people's needs, whether they be financial, legal, spiritual or related to mental health.

James Stallings: A situation like this is something that we have thought about. We've prepared, but we hoped we never had to deploy.

Chase McGee: GEMA director James Stallings says that while they've responded to many natural disasters, this tragedy warrants different resources.

James Stallings: You've got kids that have heard sounds and saw things this week that — you just don't brush that off.

Chase McGee: Stallings is encouraging people to make use of the center if they're not sure they need help. For GPB News, I'm Chase McGee in Winder.

Peter Biello: Apalachee High students were allowed to return to the school today to retrieve the things they left behind as they were evacuated last Wednesday. The Barrow County School system hasn't announced when classes at Apalachee will resume. The system's other schools will return tomorrow.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: In the southeastern part of the state, the Savannah Chatham County Public School system is now using military-style maps to help first responders navigate school buildings in the event of an active shooter scenario or other emergency. GPB's B