Father of suspect Colt Gray charged with second-degree murder

The father of Apalachee High Schoolshooting suspect Colt Gray has been arrested and charged with murder, after allegedly buying his 14-year-old son an AR-style rifle as a Christmas present.

Colin Gray, 54, faces four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The arrest came after suspect Colt Gray allegedly opened fire upon students and staff at the high school in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of two 14-year-old students and two teachers.

Colt Gray, whose mugshot was released by police on Thursday, has been charged with felony murder and will be tried as an adult. He is expected to appear in court on Friday morning.

Investigators are now looking into the motive of the suspected gunman.

FBI said that it received anonymous tips in May 2023 about online threats to carry out a school shooting, prompting local police to question the teen suspect. Colt Gray denied being behind the posts during an interview with Sheriff’s deputies.

His father, however, stated there were hunting guns in the family home, but claimed his son did not have unsupervised access to them.

Key Points

• Father of suspected Georgia school shooter arrested

• Georgia gun laws put few limits on youths possessing rifles

• Suspected Georgia school shooter to be tried as an adult

‘Schools are supposed to be a safe place’: Friends remember beloved teachers gunned down in Georgia school

08:00 , Kelly Rissman

Ricky Aspinwall went by many titles — football coach, math teacher, father, husband, father — and after the Apalachee High School shooting, he was tragically given another: victim.

“[This shooting] makes every educator in the country more anxious because schools are supposed to be a safe place,” his best friend and fellow educator Nick Bach told The Independent.

Read more:

Friends remember teachers gunned down in Georgia school hallway

Watch: Georgia student describes moment suspected shooter asked to be let into classroom

06:30 , Katie Hawkinson

Georgia gun laws explained after four die in school shooting

05:01 , Josh Marcus

Apalachee High School in Barrow County, Georgia, is the latest school across the US to experience a mass shooting as part of the country’s gun violence epidemic, with four killed and scores injured on Wednesday morning.

Apalachee student Colt Gray, 14, has been named as the suspected shooter, and is alive and in custody, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The shooting has prompted scrutiny of Georgia’s gun laws.

Read more:

Georgia gun laws explained as four die in school shooting

In pictures: Community mourns Apalachee students, teachers

03:30 , Katie Hawkinson

ICYMI: What the Gray family told police during 2023 shooting threat inquiry

03:00 , Josh Marcus

In May of 2023, the FBI got a tip about online threats on the app Discord regarding a school shooting. It traced the threats to Georgia and forwarded information to the Jackson County Sheriffs’ Office, which interviewed the Gray family.

Colin Gray, the Georgia shooting suspect’s father, said he kept hunting guns in the house, but that Colt did not have unsupervised access to them. Colt, meanwhile, denied making the online threats.

“Colt expressed concern that someone is accusing him of threatening to shoot up a school, stating that he would never say such a thing, even in a joking manner,” according to a police report obtained by The Independent.

Gray also told deputies that “he stopped using Discord because too many people kept hacking his account and he was afraid someone would use his information for nefarious purposes.”

During the interview with the Grays, a deputy openly mused about the stakes of the 2023 investigation, saying, “God forbid” if the online threats turned into an actual shooting, according to audio of the interview obtained by CNN.

Further investigation of Colt’s Discord page showed he made the account after he said he’d deleted it, and used a Russian username that “spells out the name Lanza, referring to Adam Lanza, who is the perpetrator of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooter in Newton, Conn.,” per the report.

Police notified local schools and no probable cause for an arrest was found at the time, according to the FBI.

Read Rhian Lubin’s story for more information.

Colt Gray told cops he would never shoot up a school during threat investigation

Georgia shooting suspect’s aunt reveals new details about Gray family

02:30 , Josh Marcus

As police continue to investigate yesterday’s mass shooting at a Georgia high school, a family member of Colt Gray is providing new insights into the 14-year-old’s home life.

Annie Polhamus Brown spoke with The Independent about her older sister Marcee Polhamus Gray and Marcee’s estranged husband Colin Gray.

Learn more in Justin Rohrlich’s full story.

Georgia school suspect’s aunt breaks silence: ‘Hearts and humble prayers’

ICYMI: Colt Gray charged with four counts of felony murder

02:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Colt Gray, the 14-year-old suspected gunman who killed four people at Apalachee High School, has been charged with four counts of felony murder, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.

Additional charges are expected. His first court appearance will be tomorrow morning.

Authorities will perform autopsies on the four victims later today as investigators look into the shooter’s motive.

Georgia gun laws put few limits on youths possessing rifles

01:59 , Josh Marcus

More details are emerging about the circumstances that allegedly led to yesterday’s school shooting in Georgia.

Colin Gray, 54, the father of alleged gunman Colt Gray, 14, reportedly purchased his son a high-powered AR 15-style rifle as a holiday gift in 2023 that was later allegedly used in the Georgia shooting, which killed four people and hospitalized nine others.

The purchase came months after local police interviewed the Grays, after the FBI received tips about online warnings to commit a school shooting that could be traced to a social media account belonging to Colt. The student denied making the threats and no arrests were made at the time.

There is no minimum age requirement to possess a rifle under federal and state firearms law in Georgia, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, but individuals must be 18 or older to buy one under both sets of rules.

Colin and Colt Gray are now both facing charges over the shooting.

Father of suspect charged for ‘knowingly allowing’ son to have a weapon

01:12 , Graeme Massie

Charges were brought against Colt Gray’s father for “knowingly allowing” the teenage shooting suspect to have a gun, Chris Hosey, the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, told reporters on Thursday night.

Colin Gray, 54, has been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children.

Father of suspected Georgia school shooter arrested

Friday 6 September 2024 00:48 , Graeme Massie

Father of suspected Georgia school shooter arrested

Colt Gray’s father charged with murder over Georgia school shooting

Friday 6 September 2024 00:42 , Graeme Massie

The father of suspect Colt Gray has been arrested in connection with the shooting at Apalachee High School, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Colin Gray, 54, has been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children.

Earlier on Thursday CNN reported that Colin Gray had told investigators he bought his son the assault rifle allegedly used to kill two students and two teachers as a Christmas present last year.

The purchase came months after the FBI told local law enforcement in May 2023 about anonymous online threats about a school shooting. Colt Gray denied he was behind them and no arrest or other legal action was taken.

Georgia shooting: Video shows students cowering in classroom as police sweep building

Friday 6 September 2024 00:30 , Katie Hawkinson

Shooting suspect’s father tells authorities he bought son gun as Christmas present

Thursday 5 September 2024 23:37 , Graeme Massie

The Georgia suspect’s father has told investigators that he bought his son the weapon used in the school shooting as a Christmas gift last December, according to CNN.

Two law enforcement sources told the network that Colt Gray’s father, Colin Gray, said he purchased the gun used to kill two 14-year-old students and two teachers.

The purchase came months after the FBI received anonymous tips in May 2023 about online threats to carry out a school shooting.

The bureau turned over evidence to the Jackson County Sheriff’s office, which interviewed Gray and his father, who told them that there were hunting guns in the house but that the then 13-year-old did not have “unsupervised access” to them.

In a post on X after the shooting, the FBI said that there had been no probable cause at the time for an arrest or additional law enforcement action.

What we know about the Apalachee High School shooting that left four dead in Georgia

Thursday 5 September 2024 23:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Yesterday, gunfire broke out at Apalachee High School.

Two teachers and two 14-year-old students are now dead, with nine others hospitalized for their injuries. Now, 14-year-old suspected gunman Colt Gray is in custody and expected to be charged as an adult.

Here’s everything we know so far about the shooting, from The Independent’s Kelly Rissman:

What we know about the Apalachee High School shooting that left four dead in Georgia

Colt Gray told police he would never shoot up a school when they visited his house after FBI reported threats

Thursday 5 September 2024 22:35 , Rhian Lubin

The teenage suspect in the Georgia mass shooting told police he would never shoot up a school when he was questioned over online threats about a potential school shooting one year before the attack, it has been revealed.

Colt Gray, 14, who previously appeared on the FBI’s radar, is accused of opening fire with an AR-style rifle, at Apalachee High School in the city of Winder on Wednesday which left four people – two students and two teachers – dead. He surrendered to authorities on the scene and will be charged with murder and tried as an adult.

Now it has emerged that the FBI and the police had interviewed Gray and his father Colin Gray in May 2023 over “online threats to commit a school shooting,” from the social media platform Discord, which contained photographs of guns, the FBI’s Atlanta office said in a statement.

Read on:

Colt Gray told cops he would never shoot up a school during threat investigation

Unanswered questions in the wake of the Apalachee shooting

Thursday 5 September 2024 22:11 , Katie Hawkinson

Several unanswered questions remain more than 24 hours after a shooter at Apalachee High School took the lives of two teachers and two students.

Could the suspected gunman have been stopped?

Suspected gunman Colt Gray, 14, was questioned by police in May 2023 over internet posts that contained images of guns, the FBI said. Gray allegedly denied being behind the posts.

What kind of gun was used?

Officials say Gray used an “AR-platform style weapon” to kill four people and injure nine others on Wednesday. However, the exact model is still unclear.

Where did the suspected gunman obtain the gun?

Investigators are also looking into where the suspected gunman obtained the gun. Last year when the FBI first interviewed the teen, his father said that there were hunting guns in the family home, but that Gray, then 13, did not have unsupervised access to them.

What was the suspected gunman’s motive?

The FBI is still investigating potential motives for the shooting. Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said investigators still don’t know if there was a relationship between the suspected shooter and the victims.

Mugshot released of Colt Gray

Thursday 5 September 2024 21:50 , Katie Hawkinson

Police have released the booking photo of 14-year-old Colt Gray, who has been charged with four counts of murder in connection to the Apalachee High School shooting.

Watch: Biden addresses Georgia school shooting

Thursday 5 September 2024 21:20 , Katie Hawkinson

Police found suspected gunman wrote about previous school shootings: report

Thursday 5 September 2024 21:08 , Katie Hawkinson

Officials found writings about past school shootings in the home of Colt Gray, the 14-year-old arrested in connection with the deadly Apalachee High School shooting, unnamed law enforcement officials told The Washington Post.

Some of the shootings referenced in the writings included the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida six years ago. There, 17 people died and another 17 were injured.

Georgia school shooter’s aunt breaks silence after tragedy: ‘Hearts and humble prayers’

Thursday 5 September 2024 20:37 , Justin Rohrlich

While authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding Wednesday’s tragic school shooting in Winder, Georgia, the suspect’s aunt — who has been highly critical of her sibling’s parenting skills — is doing her best to process the ghastly accusations against her 14-year-old nephew.

“Our hearts and humble prayers are with the families affected by this devastating tragedy,” Annie Polhamus Brown told The Independent.

Polhamus Brown, who lives in Florida with her golf pro husband, said Thursday that she and the rest of the family are “eager” to share their thoughts about what might have prompted incoming freshman Colt Gray to allegedly gun down two classmates and two teachers at Apalachee High School, but that “it will not be at this time.”

Read more:

Georgia school shooter’s aunt breaks silence: ‘Hearts and humble prayers’

Apalachee used security system to alert police

Thursday 5 September 2024 20:27 , Katie Hawkinson

Staff Apalachee High School used a panic button to call law enforcement on Wednesday.

The button-shaped device that is embedded in a wearable badge allows staff to alert the police and the rest of campus of an emergency, The Washington Post reports. Police said they were alerted to the shooting thanks to the panic buttons.

Support pours in for families of Georgia school victims with over $100K in donations in first hours

Thursday 5 September 2024 20:15 , Katie Hawkinson

Community members and supporters have raised more than $100,000 for the families of the four people killed at Apalachee High School.

The Independent’s Andrea Cavallier has the story:

GoFundMe for Georgia school victims raises over $100K in first few hours

Georgia Governor orders flags to be lowered

Thursday 5 September 2024 19:59 , Katie Hawkinson

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has ordered all flags be lowered to honor the four people killed in the shooting at Apalachee High School.

As all Georgians continue to grieve with their families and community, I have ordered flags on all state buildings to be lowered in honor of Richard Aspinwall, Christina Irimie, Christian Angulo, and Mason Schermerhorn,” Kemp said in a statement. “May we remember and commemorate their lives in all the days to come.”

Colt Gray charged with four counts of felony murder

Thursday 5 September 2024 19:46 , Katie Hawkinson

Colt Gray, the 14-year-old suspected gunman who killed four people at Apalachee High School, has been charged with four counts of felony murder, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.

Additional charges are expected. His first court appearance will be tomorrow morning.

Authorities will perform autopsies on the four victims later today as investigators look into the shooter’s motive.

https://twitter.com/GBI_GA/status/1831750392486756458

Barrow County schools closed for rest of week

Thursday 5 September 2024 19:30 , Katie Hawkinson

Barrow County will close all of its schools for the rest of the week following the shooting at Apalachee High School.

“School is canceled for all [Barrow County School System] schools tomorrow, Thursday, Sept. 5 and Friday, Sept. 6, 2024,” an alert reads on Apalachee High School’s website.

The district is also offering crisis counseling for community members.

The shooter killed two teachers and two 14-year-old students on Wednesday. Nine others were hospitalized for their injuries.

Georgia gun laws explained after four die in school shooting

Thursday 5 September 2024 19:00 , Josh Marcus

Apalachee High School in Barrow County, Georgia, is the latest school across the US to experience a mass shooting as part of the country’s gun violence epidemic, with four killed and scores injured on Wednesday morning.

Apalachee student Colt Gray, 14, has been named as the suspected shooter, and is alive and in custody, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The shooting has prompted scrutiny of Georgia’s gun laws.

Read more:

Georgia gun laws explained as four die in school shooting

Football coach, math teacher, video-game loving teen and ‘beautiful soul’: Victims of Georgia school shooting

Thursday 5 September 2024 18:30 , Rhian Lubin

Tributes are now pouring in for the four victims who were killed in a mass shooting at a Georgia high school.

Two students and two teachers died in the “senseless” violence after a gunman opened fire at Apalachee High School in Winder on Wednesday morning.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has now named the victims as Mason Schermerhorn, Christian Angulo, both 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53.

Here’s everything we know about the victims:

Everything we know about the four victims of the Apalachee school shooting in Georgia

Colt Gray was ‘begging’ for mental health help before shooting, aunt says

Thursday 5 September 2024 18:09 , Katie Hawkinson

Colt Gray, the 14-year-old accused of killing four at Apalachee High School, was “begging for months” for help with his mental health, his aunt Annie Brown told The Washington Post.

“[Gray] was begging for help from everybody around him,” Brown told the outlet. “The adults around him failed him.”

The 14-year-old will be charged as an adult and is set to appear in court tomorrow.

Video: Georgia student describes moment suspected shooter asked to be let into classroom

Thursday 5 September 2024 18:00 , Katie Hawkinson

Georgia shooting: Teacher tells students ‘it’s not a drill’ as they cower in classroom

Thursday 5 September 2024 16:49 , Holly Patrick

Dramatic pictures show emotion as Apalachee high remains closed day after shooting

Thursday 5 September 2024 16:37 , Katie Hawkinson

Suspected gunman could be youngest to kill more than one at K-12 school

Thursday 5 September 2024 15:55 , Katie Hawkinson

Colt Gray, 14, is in custody after police say he killed four people at Apalachee High School on Wednesday.

If Gray is convicted, he would be the youngest shooter to kill more than one person at a K-12 school in over two decades, The Washington Post reports.

Gray is expected to make his first court appearance tomorrow.

In pictures: Winder community mourns in wake of Apalachee shooting

Thursday 5 September 2024 15:40 , Katie Hawkinson

What we know about the Apalachee High School shooting that left four dead in Georgia

Thursday 5 September 2024 15:23 , Katie Hawkinson

24 hours ago, gunfire broke out at Apalachee High School.

Two teachers and two 14-year-old students are now dead, with nine others hospitalized for their injuries. Now, 14-year-old suspected gunman Colt Gray is in custody and expected to be charged as an adult.

Here’s everything we know so far about the shooting, from The Independent’s Kelly Rissman:

What we know about the Apalachee High School shooting that left four dead in Georgia

Suspected gunman will appear in court tomorrow

Thursday 5 September 2024 15:19 , Katie Hawkinson

Colt Gray, the 14-year-old arrested in connection with the shooting that killed four at Apalachee High School, will make his first court appearance tomorrow, CNN reports.

His appearance will be virtual, Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice communications director Glenn Allen told the outlet.

While Gray will be charged as an adult, he is still in juvenile custody due to his age, Allen told CNN.

Unanswered questions in the wake of the Apalachee shooting

Thursday 5 September 2024 15:06 , Katie Hawkinson

Several unanswered questions remain now 24 hours after a gunman at Apalachee High School took the lives of two teachers and two students.

Could the suspected gunman have been stopped?

Suspected gunman Colt Gray, 14, was questioned by police in May 2023 over internet posts that contained images of guns, the FBI said. Gray allegedly denied being behind the posts.

What kind of gun was used?

Officials say Gray used an “AR-platform style weapon” to kill four people and injure nine others on Wednesday. However, the exact model is still unclear.

Where did the suspected gunman obtain the gun?

Investigators are also looking into where the suspected gunman obtained the gun. Last year when the FBI first interviewed the teen, his father said that there were hunting guns in the family home, but that Gray, then 13, did not have unsupervised access to them.

What was the suspected gunman’s motive?

The FBI is still investigating potential motives for the shooting. Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said investigators still don’t know if there was a relationship between the shooter and the victims.

Daughter of injured teacher shares his first words after surgery

Thursday 5 September 2024 14:46 , Katie Hawkinson

Apalachee High School teacher David Phenix was shot in the foot and hip on Wednesday morning, his daughter Katie Phenix said on social media.

Phenix was rushed to surgery on Wednesday. After waking up, his daughter said, his first words were: “Is everyone else okay?”

“I think that speaks volumes to the type of man he is— always putting others first, no matter his personal situation,” she said on social media.

“Additional surgeries will probably be needed, but as of right now he is resting,” she continued. “It will be a very long road ahead.”

Two teachers and two students were killed in the shooting, while at least nine people were taken to local hospitals for their injuries.

Does Georgia have the death penalty?

Thursday 5 September 2024 14:40 , Katie Hawkinson

The death penalty is legal in the state of Georgia, where police have arrested 14-year-old Colt Gray in connection with the shooting at Apalachee High School that killed two students and two teachers.

However, since 2005 minors have been exempt from the death penalty nationwide, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

If Gray is tried and convicted, it is still unclear what sentence he could face.

In 2012, the US Supreme Court ruled that sentencing a minor to life without parole is, in most cases, excessive. However, Ethan Crumbley, who killed four people at his Michigan high school in 2021 at 15 years old, became the first child to receive a sentence of life without the possibility of parole following that Supreme Court ruling.

Boy says bathroom break spared his life: ‘I’d probably be dead right now’

Thursday 5 September 2024 14:32 , James Liddell

A 10th grader who survived a shooting that broke out in his Georgia high school on Wednesday said a trip to the bathroom might have saved his life.

The boy, who remains nameless, spoke out in the wake of suspected gunman Colt Gray alleged opened fire on Apalachee High School students and staff, which took the lives of four people.

Speaking to 11Alive, the sophomore recalled: “I was going to go to the bathroom right before it happened. And I’m so glad I didn’t because I’d probably be dead right now if I did.”

While the boy escaped unscathed, others around him weren’t quite so lucky.

“I know my teacher. He got shot. I know one of my friend’s friends got shot in the leg,” he told the outlet.

Almost $100k raised for families of the deceased

Thursday 5 September 2024 14:11 , James Liddell

Almost $100,000 has been raised in under 24 hours since suspected gunman Colt Gray allegedly opened fire on staff and students of Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday. Four people – two students, two teachers – have been pronounced dead.

A GoFundMe account set up to support fallen math teacher Richard ‘Ricky’ Aspinwall’s family has seen donations pour in from more than 800 people, amounting to $59,400 at the time of writing.

Christian Angulo’s sister Lisette has spoken as she laments the loss of her 14-year-old brother on a GoFundMe page, which has received $37,900.

Both fundraisers were set up to help with funeral costs and support the families of those killed in the shooting.

Teen school shooting survivor reflects on ‘traumatic experience’ and brands deceased teacher ‘kindest soul’

Thursday 5 September 2024 13:47 , James Liddell

A survivor of Wednesday’s school shooting reflected on her “traumatic experience” the morning after the attack in Winder, Georgia.

Ariel Bowling, a sophomore student at Apalachee High School, was heading towards a vending machine with her friend when she first heard gunfire.

The students rushed back to the classroom and “piled on” to one another, she said.

“I’m just still really in shock, processing everything that happened yesterday. It’s just like… a lot,” she told Today on Thursday morning.

“I saw a deceased body on the floor; it was like covered up. And I saw a female with a shot wound to her leg, and it was like a really traumatic experience.”

Bowling was the student of one of the four deceased, math teacher Richard Aspinwall, who lost his life on Wednesday.

“I just want people to know that he was a really kind-hearted man and he would really push you,” she said of the educator.

“He was really hard working and he had the most kindest soul ever.”

Student who sat ‘elbow to elbow’ with Colt Gray in algebra class reveals close call

Thursday 5 September 2024 13:20 , James Liddell

A student has revealed her close call with the suspected Georgia high school shooter after she sat next to him in class that day.

Four victims – two teachers and two 14-year-old students – were killed in the mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder on Wednesday, after a teenage gunman went on a rampag with an AR-style rifle.

The suspect, identified by authorities as 14-year-old student Colt Gray, was arrested on the scene and is facing murder charges as an adult.

Myriam Page has the full details.

Georgia student who sat next to suspect reveals close call during school shooting