Christian Angulo, teenager killed in shooting at Georgia high school, buried

Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral Friday of a teenager who was fatally shot in the Apalachee High School shooting earlier this month.

About 600 people crowded into St. Matthew Catholic Church in Winder, Georgia, for an emotional mass in honor of 14-year-old Christian Angulo, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The funeral was the fourth and final memorial service for the victims of the September 4 shooting, in which two teachers and another 14-year-old student were also killed.

Another teacher and eight students were injured.

Angulo’s service was conducted in English and Spanish.

His parents are immigrants from Mexico and the funeral attracted many members of the Hispanic community, the Journal-Constitution reported.

“These events have changed this community forever,” said Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer of Atlanta in his homily.

“This tragedy was not God’s plan for Christian. Our focus is on the rays of love that emerged from Christian’s all too short life,” he added.

“Despite our sadness, we are invited to celebrate the love and tenderness, the kindness and compassion, the joy and laughter that were so characteristic of Christian’s life.”

Members of Angulos’ family did not speak during the service, but many wore T-shirts with a photo of the slain teenager and the words: “Our angel in heaven. Your wings were ready, our hearts were not.”

Emotions in the audience grew, with several mourners dabbing their eyes throughout the service.

Some participants wore T-shirts that read “Apalachee Strong.”

The suspect, 14-year-old Colt Gray, was charged with quadruple murder in connection with the tragedy.

His father, Colin, 54, was also charged with first-degree murder for giving his son the AK-style weapon the teenager allegedly used to open fire as a Christmas present. The teenager had been accused months earlier of threatening to carry out school shootings.

Gray surrendered to school security on the scene, just moments after the first shots were fired.

It was discovered that he had boarded the school bus that morning with the semi-automatic rifle in his backpack.

A private funeral was held earlier this week for 39-year-old math teacher and football coach Richard Aspinwall.

Mathematics teacher Cristina Irimie, 53, and Mason Schermerhorn, 14, were honored in separate services on September 14.

With post wires