Suspect in Georgia school massacre appears in court for first time

The teenager accused of shooting two students and two teachers at a high school in the US state of Georgia will appear in court for the first time on Friday to face murder charges. Just hours earlier, his father was arrested and accused of enabling the shootings by allowing his son to possess a deadly weapon.

Two law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation told NBC News Thursday night that 54-year-old Colin Gray gave his son an AR-15-style rifle.

Colt Gray, 14, is scheduled to appear via video link in Barrow County Superior Court in Winder beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET. He will remain in the Gainesville Youth Detention Center.

Gray is also accused of injuring nine other people in the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder.

He is treated as an adult and is accused of quadruple murder.

His father, Colin Gray, was arrested Thursday and faces 14 charges, including four counts of manslaughter, two counts of first-degree murder and eight counts of child abuse. He was booked into the Barrow County Jail.

He gave the gun to his son after the two were questioned by police officers in May 2023 in connection with alleged online threats to carry out a school shooting, the two law enforcement sources said.

Court records show that Colt Gray was not arrested after this interview because he could not be linked to the online account used to make the threats.

Also announced Thursday was that Coly Gray's mother, Marcee Gray, was arrested on domestic violence charges in 2023. Barrow County court records show she pleaded guilty in December to one count each of second-degree criminal damage to property and domestic violence trespass.

The ruling also ordered Marcee Gray to have no contact with Colin Gray except through third parties and in matters involving the children or a divorce.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com.