THE dad of the child suspected in the Georgia school shooting has been arrested for his alleged role in the tragedy.
Colin Gray, 54, has now been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children.
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His son, Colt Gray, 14, is accused of opening fire at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, Georgia, and was arrested on Wednesday morning for allegedly killing four people and injuring nine.
Georgia authorities announced the arrest at a press conference, telling reporters that Colin “knowingly” let his son possess a weapon.
“We take incidents like this very seriously across the state,” Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.
Hosey added that Colt has now officially been charged with four counts of felony murder.
What we know so far…
- Four people are dead, and nine others were injured, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations confirmed.
- Students Mason Schermerhorn, 14, Christian Angulo, 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie were identified as those killed.
- 14-year-old student Colt Gray was named as the suspected shooter.
- Gray and his dad were interviewed by the FBI a year before after authorities received online threats of a possible school shooting.
- Colt’s dad, Colin, 54, was arrested on Thursday by cops and is facing multiple charges including involuntary manslaughter, second-degree murder, and cruelty to children.
- A classmate said Gray was blocked from entering a classroom by a student who spotted his gun.
- Students gathered on the football field after the attack.
- President Biden and Vice President Harris were briefed.
- Devastating texts revealed student’s fear.
“This is a very serious investigation,” he added.
According to CNN, Gray allegedly confessed to committing the crime during his arrest.
Despite being read his Miranda rights, Gray told authorities, “I did it” while being questioned.
At this time, there were no further details on Colin’s arrest, and authorities were unable to say whether more arrests would be made.
Hosey also told reporters that the nine victims who were hospitalized with injuries are “expected to make a full recovery.”
Seven out of nine of the victims have already been released from the hospital.
The GBI said they didn’t expect to announce additional updates on Thursday night, but that the investigation continued to remain “fluid.”
Four victims lost their lives during the shooting, including, two teachers, Cristina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall.
Two students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo were also killed in the shooting.
CHRISTMAS GIFT CONTROVERSY
Colin told investigators that he purchased the gun allegedly used in the shooting as a Christmas gift for his son last December, two law enforcement sources told CNN.
The source added the AR-15-style rifle was purchased at a local gun store last year.
The gift was purchased months after the FBI first investigated Colt for school shooting threats.
The FBI announced on Wednesday they had interviewed Colt and his father in May 2023 after receiving “several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time.”
“The online threats contained photographs of guns,” a joint statement from the FBI Atlanta and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office read.
“Within 24 hours, the FBI determined the online post originated in Georgia.”
Investigators explained that the threatening posts were made on a Discord group chat.
Family members told The New York Times that Colt had a “troubled life.”
“My grandson did what he did because of the environment that he lived in,” his grandfather, Charles Polhamus said.
Colt’s aunt, Annie Brown, added, “The adults in his life let him down.”
Brown explained that Colt was “actively seeking help” for his mental health, but didn’t find the support he needed from those around him.
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FBI INTERACTION
When the FBI questioned Colin on the posts his son made on Discord, he said he didn’t know what the messaging app was.
“Colin stated he does not know what Discord is, stating that he works full time and does not play video games,” investigators wrote.
When authorities questioned Colin, he admitted he keeps guns in his home but his son was only allowed access under adult supervision.
They urged Colin to “keep his firearms locked up” and asked him to keep Colt away from school until his mental health improved.
At the time of the interview, the FBI determined there wasn’t enough evidence for an arrest.
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GEORGIA’S WORST SHOOTING
The events that occurred on Wednesday morning in Barrow County marked the deadliest shooting in Georgia.
The tragedy began at the start of the school day when reports of an active shooter came in.
Students attempted to block their classrooms and authorities arrived on the scene by 10:30 am.
Student Lyela Sayara told CNN that she was sitting next to Colt in algebra class when he left the classroom around 9:45 am.
When he returned, staff had already received emails about a gunman on campus.
A student who didn’t see the gun opened the door and Colt allegedly entered a classroom next to Lyela’s.
“When we heard it, most people just dropped to the floor and like kind of crawled in an area like piled on top of each other,” Lyela told the outlet.
“The teacher turned off the lights, but we all just kind of piled together. And like I pushed desks in front of us.”
Students were scored out of the school and fled to a nearby football stadium.
Barrow County Sheriff Judd Smith said Colt “gave up and got on the ground,” once authorities surrounded him.
“I never imagined I would be speaking to the media in my career over something that happened today,” Smith said at a press conference after the shooting.
“Pure evil happened today. This hits home for me. I was born and raised here. I went to school in this school system.
“My kids go to this school system. I am proud of this school system. My heart hurts for these kids. My heart hurts for this community.
“But I want to make it very clear that hate will not prevail in this county. I want that to be very clear and known. Law will prevail over what happened today.”
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing and authorities have yet to announce if more arrests will be made.
Colin is being held at the Barrow County Detention Center and was booked into jail on Thursday night.
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