A mother and her children bow their heads in prayer at a vigil for the victims of the Apalachee High School shooting in Winder, Georgia
A mother and her children bow their heads in prayer at a vigil for the victims of the Apalachee High School shooting in Winder, Georgia AFP

A 14-year-old boy has been charged with shooting four people dead at a US high school, authorities said Thursday, adding that their investigation into the country's latest outburst of gun violence is ongoing.

The teen faces four felony murder counts after allegedly killing two fellow pupils, also aged 14, as well as two teachers at Apalachee High School in the southern state of Georgia on Wednesday.

Citing unnamed sources, CNN reported that the gun used in the shooting -- which it described as an AR 15-style assault rifle -- had been purchased for the teenager by his father as a holiday gift.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation had said the suspect would be charged as an adult. It said that he would appear in court on Friday, and that additional charges are expected.

"The investigation into the shooting at Apalachee HS is still active & ongoing," the agency said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

"This is day 2 of a very complex investigation & the integrity of the case is paramount," it continued, adding that all four victims would be autopsied on Thursday.

School shootings are a shockingly regular occurrence in the United States, where guns outnumber people and regulations on purchasing even powerful military-style rifles are lax.

Parental responsibility in mass shootings, particularly by minors, has come increasingly under the spotlight in recent months.

"How could you have an assault rifle, a weapon in a house, not locked up and knowing your kid knows where it is?" lamented President Joe Biden, speaking to reporters in Wisconsin on Thursday.

"You've got to hold parents accountable if they let their child have access to these guns."

In April, the parents of a teenager who killed four people in a school shooting in Michigan were sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison, in an unprecedented and closely watched case.

Jennifer Crumbley, 46, and her husband James, 47, were the first parents of a school shooter convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the United States for the actions of their child.

Polls show a majority of voters favor stricter controls on the use and purchase of firearms, but a powerful gun ownership lobby is opposed to additional restrictions and lawmakers have repeatedly failed to act.