What the emergency calls reveal after the shooting at a high school in Georgia

The emergency dispatch center that responded to reports of a shooting at a Georgia high school was overwhelmed with calls as the situation unfolded, according to local reports and records obtained by ABC News.

When shots rang out at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on the morning of Sept. 4, numerous 911 calls from witnesses and parents flooded the local emergency dispatch center, according to records released Friday by Barrow County authorities and first reported by The Associated Press.

Local media reports detail the difficulties callers had trying to reach a dispatcher.

Several 911 calls received in Barrow County around 10:20 a.m. were answered with an automated message saying there was a “high volume of calls,” FOX Atlanta affiliate station WAGA reported. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that one caller was put on hold for 10 minutes after calling 911.

Further emergency calls came from concerned parents who wanted to find out what was going on at the school.

A parent whose daughter attends one of the nearby schools – a middle school and an elementary school – asked a telephone operator if there had been a shooting at the school.

“We have a very hectic situation at Apalachee High School right now,” the operator replied. “We have a lot of incoming calls.”

According to AP, several 911 calls were not released despite requests to release public records because state law exempts recordings containing the voices of people under 18 from release.

Four people were killed when the suspected shooter, 14-year-old Colt Gray, opened fire with an AR-15 rifle inside the school, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Seven of the nine injured suffered gunshot wounds, according to the GBI.

Colt Gray is charged with four counts of murder. His father, Colin Gray, is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of child abuse for allegedly participating in the crime by knowingly allowing his son to possess the gun used in the shooting, the GBI said.

According to sources, investigators believe Colt Gray received the AR weapon used in the shooting as a Christmas gift from his father.

Both Colt Gray and Colin Gray made their first court appearance last week and will appear in court again on December 4. Neither has entered a guilty plea.

Apalachee High School students are scheduled to return to class on September 23, the AP reported.

ABC News’ Faith Abubey and Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.