Brooks Koepka’s wife, Jena Sims, posted an emotional reaction to the shooting at Apalachee High School on Wednesday, September 4. The school was part of Sims’ teenage years, so what happened there hit her deep.

Apalachee High School is located in Winder, Barrow county, Georgia, the same town where Jena Sims was born and spent her childhood. Brooks Koepka’s wife reacted to the event by posting the following text in an Instagram story:

“This is so f***ing sad. My rival high school in my hometown of Winder. Makes me terrified to send Crew to school one day. Praying.”
In a subsequent post, she called for the protection of “our kids.”

Image via @jenamsims
Jena Sims was born in Winder, Georgia in 1988 and attended Winder-Barrow High School from 2003-2007. Winder-Barrow’s Bulldoggs and Apalachee’s Wildcats are rivals in local high school league sports. The two schools are only seven miles apart.

During her time in high school, Brooks Koepka’s wife was very successful in her pageant career. She was crowned Miss Georgia Junior National Teenager in 2004, Miss Junior National Teenager in 2005, and Miss Georgia Teen USA in 2006.

Jena Sims was scheduled to compete in Miss Teen USA 2007 but declined to participate.

What happened in Jena Sims’ hometown?
A 14-year-old student opened fire in the hallway of Apalachee High School on Wednesday, according to The New York Times. The suspect surrendered to authorities and will be charged as an adult. Two students and two teachers were killed in the attack. At least nine others were injured. The student’s motive for opening fire is unknown at this time.

Apalachee High School has about 1,800 students, who were forced to take cover when they heard the shots. They were then evacuated to the football field and from there to their homes.

Several U.S. political figures have reacted to the incident. President Joe Biden issued a statement on X (formerly Twitter) condemning the event. Here is part of what he said:

“Back-to-school season in Winder, Georgia, has now turned into another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart. Students are learning how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We can not continue to accept this as normal.”
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Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, and Georgia State Senator Raphael Warnock also condemned the shooting and offered their condolences to the victims’ families and friends.

According to a study by the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security, there have been more than 70 school shootings in Georgia between 1970 and 2022. However, Wednesday’s shooting in Winder was the deadliest.

Edited by Rachel Syiemlieh