A friend of the family of Mason Schermerhorn, a 14-year-old killed in the Sept. 4 shooting at Apalachee High School, remembered the teenager as “the sweetest, most loving soul with the biggest smile.”
Another 14-year-old student, Christian Angulo, and two teachers also were killed in the shooting.
Mason was a ninth-grader at the high school and enjoyed playing video games, according to his obituary. His favorite game was Kingdom Hearts. The freshman also loved visiting Walt Disney World and playing with LEGOs, his obituary read.
But most of all, he loved his family.
A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at the Jefferson Civic Center, located at 65 Kissam Street, according to a notice posted by Smith Memory Chapel. Mourners are encouraged to wear red, Mason’s favorite color.
Artisea Bethea, a friend of Mason’s sister, created a GoFundMe page for the family in the website’s “funerals and memorials” category.
The day after the shooting, a small group of mourners gathered at the Schermerhorn house in a tidy subdivision less than 15 minutes from Apalachee High. Multiple cars were parked in front of the home, and the front door was answered by a group of several adults and children. A woman told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the family did not want to speak to reporters.
In a public Facebook post, Lee Griffeth, an elementary school autism teacher in the Barrow County school system, said he taught Mason’s younger brother for five years. Mason himself was in a classroom down the hall, and Mason’s sister wrote on Instagram that Mason was a student with autism.
Griffeth said he got to know the family well.
“Mason’s mom and dad selflessly gave their time and resources to the classroom ...,” Griffeth said. “No one deserves to have this happen to them, and I can’t imagine what this sweet family is going through.”
― Staff writers Henri Hollis and Lexi Baker contributed to this article.
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