Tag: Apalachee High School

Accused Apalachee High School Shooter Created ‘Shrine’ to Past Attacks, Left Notebooks and Apology Letter: GBI Agents

Tom Pappert
Colin Gray

Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) special agents offered new information about Colt Gray, the 14-year-old accused of killing four at Apalachee High School on September 4, during a Wednesday hearing in the case against the teen’s father, Colin Gray, who is faces second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and cruelty to children charges for allegedly giving his son the rifle authorities say was used at the school.

Investigators stated that Colt Gray left a note for his family at his father’s home, owned at least four notebooks with drawings and writings that related to school shootings or the September 4 attack, and created a “shrine” with more than a dozen photographs and news clippings from previous attacks on schools.

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Teen Accused of Georgia School Shooting Allegedly Threatened Mother with Rifle Three Weeks Earlier

Tom Pappert
Colt Gray

The teen accused of killing four at Apalachee High School on September 4 reportedly used a rifle to force his mother out of his bedroom just three weeks before the devastating attack, his grandmother said in a report published Thursday.

Just weeks before authorities say 14-year-old Colt Gray attacked Apalachee High School, the teen apparently used a rifle to force his mother out of a bedroom during a fight, his grandmother Debbie Polhamus told The Washington Post.

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Alleged Apalachee High School Shooter Also Reportedly Sent Apology Text to Father Before Attack

Tom Pappert
Texting

The 14-year-old police say is responsible for killing four and injuring nine at Apalachee High School reportedly sent a text message to his father apologizing, a Friday report claimed emergency services dispatch records showed.

Existence of the the purported message from Colt Gray to his father, Colin Gray, was revealed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which reported the maternal aunt of the accused killer called law enforcement about an hour after the shooting.

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Commentary: Don’t Jail Parents for School Shootings – Arm Teachers

RealClearWire
Teacher Guns

Understandably, we want to blame someone besides the 14-year-old who murdered four people last week at Apalachee High School in Georgia. People are shocked and upset that the father taught the boy to shoot and hunt and bought the boy a rifle for Christmas. But that doesn’t mean it made any sense for police to arrest the father the day after the school shooting on two counts of second-degree murder, four counts of involuntary manslaughter, and eight counts of cruelty to children.

This isn’t the first time that parents are being held liable for their children’s actions. Jennifer and James Crumbley were sentenced to prison for 10 to 15 years after their son perpetrated the 2021 Oxford High School shootings in Michigan. Their crime? Letting their son have access to the father’s pistol, which was used in the murders.

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Accused Killer Colt Gray Missed Nine of 12 Possible School Days After Enrolling Two Weeks Late at Apalachee High School: GBI

Tom Pappert
Colt Gray

Colt Gray, who authorities say killed four at the Apalachee High School on September 4, missed nine days of school after enrolling two weeks after classes commenced for the 2024 school year, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) revealed on Friday.

The GBI confirmed Colt Gray was enrolled at the high school on August 14, indicating he began attending two weeks after the Barrow County School System calendar indicates classes began.

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Teacher Allowed Alleged Apalachee High School Killer Colt Gray to Leave Classroom with Belongings Ahead of Attack: GBI

Tom Pappert
Colt Gray

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) on Thursday revealed alleged Apalachee High School attacker Colt Gray, who is accused of killing four and injuring nine at the school on September 4, was allowed to leave his classroom by a teacher after he asked to speak with someone at the front office.

According to a GBI web page about the Apalachee High School attack, the teacher allowed Colt Gray to leave a classroom after he requested to “go to the front office and speak someone.”

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Police Say Rifle Used at Apalachee High School Concealed in Backpack as Mother of Accused Killer Declares Son ‘Not a Monster’

Tom Pappert
Colt Gray

Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith reportedly offered new details about how authorities believe accused Apalachee High School killer Colt Gray obtained the rifle used during the attack and managed to conceal it at the campus where he allegedly killed four and injured nine.

Smith reportedly told Fox 5 Atlanta the rifle used during the attack was purchased legally after a background check was completed by Colin Gray, the father of Colt Gray. The purchase was made at a gun store just miles away from Apalachee High School, which the outlet reported is now cooperating with law enforcement.

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Superintendent over Apalachee High School Last Worked in Neighboring School System That Opposed School Resource Officers

Tom Pappert
Dallas Leduff

Barrow County School System Superintendent Dr. Dallas LeDuff was previously the Associate Superintendent of the Oconee County School System, which last year rebuffed calls from parents to station School Resource Officers (SROs) at its schools.

LeDuff was working for the Oconee County School System during the April 2023 push for it to adopt SROs at it schools, which Oconee County Observations reported occurred during an Oconee County Board of Education meeting.

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Counselor Reportedly Claimed Colt Gray Made ‘References to School Shootings’ Ahead of Apalachee High School Attack

Tom Pappert
Colt Gray

Marcee Gray, the mother of accused Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray, who allegedly killed four and injured nine last week, claimed in a Monday interview a school counselor emailed on the morning of the shooting to report her child made “references to school shootings,” prompting her hurried call to warn of an “extreme emergency” involving Colt Gray.

The mother revealed in a Tuesday interview with ABC News that she was contacted by an Apalachee High School “counselor” shortly before the attack, which helped prompt her decision to call the school in advance of the shooting, which police say her son confessed to committing.

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Tom Pappert Details Troubling Series of Events Leading Up to Georgia High School Shooting

Kaitlin Housler
Tom Pappert

Tom Pappert, reporter at The Georgia Star News, detailed the unfortunate series of events that reportedly transpired just minutes before 14-year-old Colt Gray allegedly killed four and injured nine more at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia last week, which, if acted upon, may have prevented the shooting.

Gray, who surrendered to law enforcement Wednesday after allegedly carrying out the shooting, was on the FBI’s radar last year, as the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office interviewed him and his father in May 2023 after the FBI received “several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting.”

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Grandfather of Colt Gray Claims Teen ‘Driven’ to Commit Attack on Apalachee High School by ‘Evil’ Father Colin Gray

Tom Pappert
Colin Gray (r) and Colt Gray (l)

The maternal grandfather of Colt Gray, who police say killed four and injured nine at the Apalachee High School in Georgia last Wednesday, said on Sunday the teen was “driven” to commit the attack due to a troubled childhood and “evil” father, Colin Gray, who was charged last week in relation to the attack.

Charlie Polhamus told the New York Post on Sunday that Colt Gray was subjected to constant “screaming and hollering” from his father, and suggested spending over a decade in that environment “can affect anybody.”

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Reporter Tom Pappert: ‘Incomprehensibly Stupid and Irresponsible’ for Father of 14-Year-Old Georgia School Shooter to Gift Rifle to Son

Kaitlin Housler
Tom Pappert

Tom Pappert, reporter at The Georgia Star News, said it seems “incomprehensibly stupid and irresponsible” and “difficult to comprehend” that the father of 14-year-old Colt Gray, who allegedly killed four and injured nine more at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia last week, gifted his son an AR-15-style rifle just months after an FBI tip prompted a visit from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in 2023.

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Tennessee Schools Can Now Purchase Panic Buttons Similar to Those Credited for Rapid Response at Apalachee High School

Tom Pappert
Teacher with Centegix badge

The Tennessee General Assembly last year provoked a change within the Tennessee Department of Education that allows school districts in the Volunteer State to purchase identification badges for teachers which contain buttons to request rapid response from school administrators, a nearby School Resource Officer (SRO), or request an immediate law enforcement response.

Such a system, created by the company Centegix, was in place at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia last Wednesday, when police say 14-year-old Colt Gray committed an attack that claimed the lives of four and injured nine more before he was quickly confronted by armed SROs.

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Apalachee High School Shooting Suspect’s Family Claim He Experienced ‘Homicidal and Suicidal Thoughts’ Week Before Attack

Tom Pappert
Colt Gray, Marcee Gray

Family members of Colt Gray, who police say killed four and injured nine at Apalachee High School last Wednesday, have reportedly claimed they tried to warn school officials after the teen reported “homicidal and suicidal thoughts” in the weeks prior to the attack.

The Washington Post reported on Saturday it obtained text messages between Marcee Gray, the mother of Colt Gray, Annie Polhamus Brown, the biological sister of Marcee Gray and aunt of Colt Gray, as well as other family members, which suggest the school was advised Colt Gray experienced such thoughts in the week prior to the attack.

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Alleged Apalachee High Killer Colt Gray Transferred to School Weeks Prior to Attack, Reportedly Spent Two Days on Campus

Tom Pappert
Colt Gray

Accused Apalachee High School killer Colt Gray reportedly only enrolled at the school two weeks prior to the shooting, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith reportedly said Thursday, also noting the shooting occurred during Colt Gray’s second day on the school campus.

Smith revealed the information about the teen’s academic history to NBC News on Thursday.

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Colt Gray Reportedly Was Gifted Gun Used at Apalachee High School by Father, Colin Gray, Months After FBI Tip Prompted Intervention

Tom Pappert
GBI

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.

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Mother of Alleged Georgia High School Shooter Colt Gray Claimed to Relocate After Years of ‘Almost Constant Domestic Abuse,’ Social Media Suggests

Tom Pappert
Marcee Gray

The woman who appears to be the mother of 14-year-old Colt Gray, who police say committed the shooting at Apalachee High School on Wednesday, claimed in a post to social media that she left her husband last year after 14 years of “almost constant domestic abuse.”

Colt Gray was accused by law enforcement of killing four, including two students and two teachers, and injuring nine during an attack at the Winder, Georgia high school.

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