Disturbing New Details Revealed About Colt Gray’s Troubled Life

The troubled life of 14-year-old Colt Gray includes the fact that he once allegedly had a Discord handle that referenced Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter Adam Lanza.

The suspected gunman who killed four people at Apalachee High School on Wednesday will be charged with murder and tried as an adult in the shooting deaths of two teachers and two students.

But this wasn’t the first interaction law enforcement had with Gray before he was a student at Apalachee High School.

On May 22, 2023, members of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office went to the home of his father Colin Gray, with whom he lived, to investigate several FBI tips from a Discord user that the teenager had threatened to shoot up a middle school the following day.

In a police report obtained by NewsweekColin Gray told authorities his family had been evicted from their previous address in Jefferson, Georgia. He and his wife were divorced, and she took the two youngest children with her while he and Colt moved in together.

Colin Gray said his son was having trouble at West Jackson Middle School in Hoschton, Georgia, and was attending Jefferson Middle School about 17 minutes away, where things improved.

Ed Hooper, a spokesman for the Jackson County school system, confirmed Newsweek that Colt Gray completed sixth grade at West Jackson Middle School and began seventh grade on July 29, 2022. He was disenrolled on August 19, 2022.

Hooper could not discuss any disciplinary action against Colin Gray due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, also known as FERPA. Hooper confirmed that the bomb threat was not made at their school.

Colin Gray said he had shotguns at home but was not allowed to use them unsupervised.

Authorities also spoke to Colt, who appeared “quiet and reserved.” The 13-year-old said he had a Discord account but deleted it before moving in with his father because it was constantly being hacked. Colt said someone accused him of threatening to shoot up a school, but he would never say such a thing, not even as a joke.

Discord is a real-time text, video, and voice chat hosting platform often used by gamers and streamers.

Thomas Crooks, the 20-year-old gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump, also had a Discord account that was “rarely used,” a spokesperson for the platform said. Crooks, however, wrote a disturbing message on the gaming platform Steam.

“July 13th will be my first, watch how it goes,” he posted.

The FBI information included an email address belonging to Colt Gray associated with the Discord account in question. IP addresses from around the time the family was evicted from their home show that the Discord account was used in either Fort Valley or Statesboro, Georgia, and possibly Buffalo, New York.

The username of the Discord account linked to Colt Gray was written in Russian, authorities said. Translated into English, the name is spelled “Lanza,” allegedly referencing Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter Adam Lanza. On December 14, 2012, Lanza shot and killed 20 victims between the ages of 6 and 7, as well as six adult staff members. He shot himself in the head as first responders arrived.

Colin Gray told authorities that his son did not know or speak Russian. Investigators concluded that the allegation that Colin Gray or Colt Gray was behind the Discord account could not be proven.

Newsweek Attempts to contact Colin Gray were unsuccessful.

At a news conference Wednesday night, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey told reporters that investigations into the shooting were ongoing and officers were still working to determine how Colt Gray was able to bring an “AR platform-type weapon” into the school building.

“We’re still trying to sort out a lot of the timeline from when he arrived at school today to the incident,” Hosey added.

The victims included two students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and two teachers, Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie. The other victims, hospitalized after the shooting, are expected to survive their injuries. Hosey said the nine injured “will recover well.”

“We do not anticipate any further deaths at this time,” Hosey said.

Lyela Sayarath, a student at Apalachee High School, described Gray as “pretty quiet” and said he often missed class in an interview with CNN.

“Even when he spoke, he would respond with one word or short statements,” Sayarath said.

How should police respond to shooting threats?

Newsweek spoke with several gun violence prevention experts about the importance of addressing the threat of school shootings.

“Law enforcement should take threats of school violence seriously and use the tools they have to reduce them,” said Lindsay Nichols, policy director at GIFFORDS Law Center. “The legal tools available to law enforcement vary widely from state to state.”

Joshua Horwitz, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, said law enforcement often lacks the tools to properly investigate the threat.

“Law enforcement in Georgia and 29 states does not have access to Red Flag laws, and lawmakers should provide them with this tool so they don’t have to wait for a tragedy or even a violent crime to occur. They can be proactive,” Horwitz said.

Dr. Ron Avi Astor, a professor at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs and School of Education, said that once officials determine there is no immediate threat, they often don’t continue their monitoring.

“I think many law enforcement officials feel that legally their hands are tied,” Astor said.

While little is known about the suspect’s motive, Astor explained some common traits shared by school shooters.

“A lot of these shooters are also suicidal,” Astor said. “But suicidal thoughts are fleeting, and they may have thought about it at one point, and then when they’re faced with that moment, they change their mind.”

Astor said the shooters’ common goal is to terrorize nationwide.

“It’s not necessarily about always targeting one person or just one person with mental health issues, as has been framed in Congress and [with] “The goal is to terrorize every child and every parent in America and they are using the media to do that,” Astor said.

Nichols said these tragedies are preventable.

“This shouldn’t happen and it’s traumatizing an entire generation,” Nichols said.

Horwitz encouraged people to advocate for gun safety and contact their elected officials.

“It’s just going to take time and planning, but elected officials are counting on people to forget things and do nothing. Don’t be one of those people,” Horwitz said.

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