Colt Gray, who allegedly killed four and injured nine more at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia on Wednesday, reportedly received the weapon used in the attack as a Christmas gift from his father, Colin Gray, who was arrested on Thursday.
It was reported Thursday by The New York Post that Colin Gray admitted to law enforcement he gave his son the rifle used during the attack as a Christmas gift in December last year. The gift occurred just seven months after an FBI tip prompted a visit from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in 2023.
Around the time the report was published, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) announced the arrest of Colin Gray in coordination with Jackson County District Attorney Brad Smith, and confirmed the arrest was related to the attack police say Colt Gray committed on Wednesday.
The state agency said Colin Gray is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children.
He is charged with the following:
– 4 counts of Involuntary Manslaughter
– 2 counts of Second Degree Murder
– 8 counts of Cruelty to Children(2/3)
— GA Bureau of Investigation (@GBI_GA) September 5, 2024
“These charges stem from Mr. Gray knowingly allowing his son, Colt, to possess a weapon,” said the GBI spokesman during a Thursday night press conference.
Colin Gray and Colt Gray were visited by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office after the FBI received “several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting,” and traced the information to Colt Gray, in May 2023.
Law enforcement reportedly heard that Colt Gray was doing better after recently transferring to a new middle school. Authorities alerted local schools for continued monitoring, though it remains unclear if this monitoring continued when Colt Gray began attending school in Barrow County.
Colin Gray apparently allowed his son to remain in possession in the weapon despite law enforcement reportedly finding within the family home evidence Colt Gray was “obsessed” with school shootings, with The Daily Mail reporting the Parkland school shooting that occurred in 2018 was of particular interest to the 14-year-old.
The Georgia Star News reported Thursday that social media posts from apparent family members of Colt Gray seemed to claim Colin Gray was abusive toward his family.
“After 14 [years] of almost constant domestic abuse, I packed myself and my babies up and relocated to my hometown in South GA. We are all good and my kids are thriving,” wrote Marcee Gray, who appears to be the mother of Colt Gray, in a post to LinkedIn.
Colt Gray’s aunt, Amy Polhamus Brown, made, then deleted, posts to Facebook suggesting her nephew had a poor home life. She later told The New York Times, “The adults in his life let him down.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
