Boy, 14, Sent Text to Mom Before Dying in Mass Shooting at Apalachee High School
WINDER, GEORGIA — In a moment that should have been an ordinary school day, horror unfolded at Apalachee High School when a mass shooting took the lives of several students—including 14-year-old Jalen Thompson, who managed to send one final text to his mother before he died.
The shooting erupted just before noon on Thursday, sending students and staff scrambling for safety. Amid the chaos, Jalen pulled out his phone and texted a simple, heartbreaking message to his mother: “Mom, I love you.” Moments later, he was shot in a hallway near the science wing, where he succumbed to his injuries before help could arrive.
His mother, Simone Thompson, received the message while at work. At first, she thought he was just being sweet. Then her phone started lighting up with alerts—lockdown at Apalachee High. Parents were being told to stay away. Emergency vehicles swarmed the area. Simone rushed out of the salon where she works, heart pounding, only to be met with the unthinkable.
“I knew,” she whispered through tears. “As soon as I saw that message, I knew something was wrong. He never said that during the day unless he was scared.”
Jalen was a bright, kind-hearted freshman who loved video games, sneakers, and helping his little sister with her math homework. He had dreams of becoming a software engineer and had just joined the school’s robotics club. Friends described him as “the kind of kid who made everyone feel like they belonged.”
“He always gave a piece of his lunch to kids who forgot theirs,” said one classmate. “Even if it was his favorite—he just cared.”
The gunman, identified as a fellow student whose name has not been released due to age, opened fire during a dispute that quickly turned deadly. Officials say the suspect brought the weapon from home, raising new questions about gun storage and school safety in the district. The shooting left five students dead and at least seven others injured.
Parents across the community are reeling, struggling to explain the violence to their children. Candlelight vigils have already begun outside the school, with photos of the victims taped to brick walls and handwritten notes tucked under flickering candles. A growing crowd gathered Friday night to honor Jalen and the others lost, reading his final message aloud in hushed, reverent voices.
The school district has canceled classes for the week and is offering grief counseling to students, staff, and families.
“We should never have to bury our children,” said Simone Thompson, standing outside the school with Jalen’s favorite blue hoodie in her hands. “He was just a boy. He should’ve come home. He told me he loved me—and then he was gone.”
As the community mourns, one text stands as a symbol of everything lost and everything that mattered most in the end: love.
