Father of Colt Gray, the teenage suspect in the case Apalachee High School Shootingwas arrested, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced Thursday.
Colin Gray, 54, is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, the GBI said. The 14-year-old shooting suspect was charged with four counts of murder.
GBI Director Chris Hosey said at a news conference Thursday night that the charges against Colin Gray stem from his “knowingly allowing his son to possess a weapon.” He was in custody and being held at the Barrow County Detention Center, authorities said Thursday.
Georgia does not allow minors to own firearms. Federal and state law also prohibit a suspected juvenile from purchasing a handgun, rifle or shotgun.
Barrow County Sheriff’s Office
His son, a student at Apalachee High School, is said to have killed four people, two students and two teacherswhen he opened fire at the Winder, Georgia, school Wednesday morning. Nine other people were injured and hospitalized, but all are expected to survive and “make full recoveries,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said Thursday. Hospital officials said Thursday that at least seven of those nine patients had been treated and released, and at least one other remained hospitalized in stable condition.
Police and federal agents were investigating whether the gun used in the shooting, described by authorities as an AR-style weapon, was purchased by the teen’s father as a gift for his son in December 2023, according to four federal law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation.
In May of last year, the suspect and his father were both questioned by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office following the incident. The FBI has received information The FBI said in a statement Wednesday night that online messages threatened a school shooting. At the time, investigators did not have enough evidence to make an arrest or sufficient grounds to “take additional law enforcement action,” the FBI said.
According to reports from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office released Thursday, the then-13-year-old claimed he deleted the Discord account from which the threats were made because it was constantly being hacked.
In the incident report, a deputy reported that the teen “assured me he never threatened to shoot up a school.”
Local police records obtained by CBS News indicate the suspected shooter’s parents were going through a divorce at the time. His mother was granted custody of two other children in the divorce while the suspect remained with his father, the records show.
The suspected shooter is being “treated” as an adult, authorities said Wednesday, and his first court appearance is scheduled for Friday morning.
