How the father of the Georgia school massacre, Colt Gray, missed all the warning signs

Students, cowering in fear, streamed down the stairs and looked past half a dozen police officers to where the murder weapon lay on the floor of a hallway at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, waiting to be examined by forensics.

It probably came as no surprise that the weapon in question was an AR-15, which has once again proven to be the weapon of choice for school shooters. Police say that 14-year-old Colt Gray used this rifle to kill two other 14-year-old students and two teachers.

Police also believe the same black semi-automatic rifle with a scope was among several weapons a DSI eviction team removed from the Grays' home in Jefferson, Georgia, on July 25, 2022. According to court documents, the Grays had not paid their rent.

The family was not there at the time, and when the clearance team discovered the firearms and several bows and arrows, they turned them over to police rather than simply leaving them at the end of the driveway with the rest of their belongings.

“The firearms, along with hunting bows and ammunition, were placed in lockers #001 and #007 for safekeeping,” a Jackson County Sheriff’s Office incident report states.

A subsequent note reads: “Handed over to the family.”

Barrow County Sheriff's Office

Another police report states that the family split up at the time of the eviction. The guns went with Colt and his father to a rented house. Two younger children went with their mother, Marquee, to a relative's house.

On May 21, 2023, Investigators Dan Miller and Deputy Justin Elliot visited Colt's new home based on a tip from the FBI that someone with his IP address had been talking on the messaging platform Discord about carrying out a mass shooting at a school the next day.

Police initially spoke only with the father, Colin, who was arrested Thursday for “knowingly allowing his son, Colt, to possess a gun,” Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said. Gray told investigators this week he bought the gun his son used Wednesday as a gift in December 2023, CNN reported, citing law enforcement sources.

The interview between Colin and the local police was recorded.

The father admitted that Colt had had some problems at school and had been bullied.

“He gets nervous and under pressure,” the father added. “He can no longer think clearly.”

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The father said he often went to his son's middle school and wanted to ask people there, “Can we, you know, just give him a hug and get him through seventh grade?”

Miller asked if there were any weapons in the house.

“Yeah,” the father replied. “I mean, they're not loaded, but they're down… We actually do a lot of shooting. We do a lot of deer hunting. He shot his first deer this year.”

The father continued, “I'm trying to teach him about firearms and safety and how to do all that. And I want to get him interested in the outdoors. And I want to get him away from these video games.”

The father showed investigators a photo on his phone of what he hoped had replaced online gaming for his son.

“In the photo on my phone, you can see him with blood on his cheeks because he shot his first deer,” said the father. “It was just the greatest day ever.”

The father added: “He knows how bad guns can be, what they can do and how to use them and how not to use them.”

The father said he wanted the investigator to speak directly to Colt about the alleged school shooting threat.

“I don't know if he said that shit,” the father said. “I'm going to be mad as hell that he did that, and then all the guns will disappear. And he won't have access to them anymore.”

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The father asked the investigator to make it clear to his son that school shootings are nothing funny.

“As if it wasn’t a joke,” said the father.

“If that were the case, we wouldn’t be here,” Miller replied.

“I'm telling you, we're talking about this quite a bit right now,” the father said. “All the school shootings, things like that are happening.”

“Yeah, it’s scary,” Miller said.

“He gets bullied at school,” said his father. “That's why I keep going there.”

He added: “Because you just never, never really know and I don't want anything to happen to him.”

The father called Colt, who said he had stopped using Discord.

“Uh, brother, man, a few months ago,” Colt said.

“Have you heard anyone say something like that on Discord when you were using it?” Miller asked

“I don't think so,” Colt replied. “I don't think I ever…”

“This is a serious matter,” Miller said.

“Yes, I know,” Colt told him.

“Oh, he knows how serious it is,” said the father. “Trust me.”

Miller told Colt, “I just want to make sure you understand that if something like this happens or you hear something like this, you need to report it.”

“Yes,” Colt replied. “Yes, sir.”

“And you're saying you didn't say anything like that?” Miller asked. Again.

“The only thing I have is TikTok, but I just go there and watch videos,” Colt told him.

“I have to take you at your word and hope you are honest with me,” Miller said.

“Oh yes, sir,” Colt assured him.

“I'm not saying you're lying, but… it's not uncommon for people to lie to the police. OK?” Miller said.

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“He looks familiar, and so do I,” said the father.

Colt said his school year was over. Miller asked what grade he would be in in the fall. Colt said eighth grade.

“Almost like high school, man,” Miller remarked.

“Yes,” said Colt.

“The last four years are what counts,” Miller said.

“I try, you know, I just focus,” Colt said.

“Get good grades, man,” Miller said. “It'll be good for the rest of your life.”

“That’s what I keep trying to tell my son,” said the father.

Miller left. He recorded a telephone conversation that the father subsequently made from a construction site where he was working.

“He says, 'I can't believe this is happening,'” the father said of Colt. “He says, 'I'm a good boy, Dad. I would never do something like that.'”

The father again said that Colt had a hard time at school.

“I don't want him to fight anyone, but they just keep pinching and touching him, and words are one thing, but when you start touching him, that's a whole different thing,” the father said. “And it just escalated to the point where his finals were last week and that was the last thing on his mind.”

The father said he tried to get Colt on the golf team, but the other kids said, 'Oh, look, Colt is gay. He's dating this guy.' They mocked him day in and day out.”

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The father then talked again about how he had introduced his son to bow hunting.

“Then it was an air rifle, then a .22 and a gun safety, all because I'm worried about him and school,” the father said.

The father assured Miller that his son “believes that if there is anything he can do or say or get information, he wants to do it.”

Miller then asked a question that he thought would sound strange.

“Your son doesn’t speak Russian, does he?” asked Miller.

“He doesn’t speak Russian,” said the father.

Miller told him that there was a photo on the Discord account with Russian writing on it.

“That makes the name Lanza,” Miller said. “Remember Adam Lanza? The shooter up there in Sandy Hook?”

In 2012, Lanza used an AR-15 to murder 20 teenagers and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

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“Yep, sure,” said the father.

“But I don’t think your son is dishonest at all,” Miller said.

“I'm going to talk to him more about it,” said the father. “He wants to know what happened and where it all came from.”

The case was dismissed due to lack of evidence. In the fall of that year, Colt entered eighth grade. After that, he went on to Apalachee High School.

And on Wednesday, a black AR-15 with a scope was found on the hallway floor.

Colt had just killed his first deer and was now accused of murdering two other teenagers and two teachers.