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The father of Georgia school shooting suspect Colt Gray said that high-calibre weapons were “accessible” to the teen a year before he was accused of opening fire inside Apalachee High School, newly-released audio reveals.
Last year, Georgia authorities visited the Jefferson home of Colin Gray, 54, and his 14-year-old son, the alleged gunman who police say killed four people in Winder on Wednesday.
The mass shooting followed the FBI receiving a tip about alarming online messages with threats to possibly “shoot up a middle school” in a group chat on the app Discord. The chat also contained photographs of guns, the bureau’s Atlanta office said in a statement.
After the FBI referred the information to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the online threats were traced to a suspect: Colt Gray. The teen told police that he’d never conduct a school shooting, when probed about his alleged comments.
The newly surfaced audio paints a troubling picture of the Colts’s family’s life, as an officer spoke to the father and son on May 21, 2023.
The mass shooting followed the FBI receiving a tip about alarming online messages with threats to possibly “shoot up a middle school” (Barrow County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
“I mean, I’m not trying to get anybody hemmed up,” the investigator said. “But this is some serious stuff.”
“Oh, he knows how serious it is — trust me,” Colin Gray retorted.
The officer’s superior said that a probe into the threats could wait until Monday, to which the officer replied: “No, I’d rather do it now because…”
“So would we,” the father interjected.
The investigator continued: “God forbid something happen and I didn’t do my job. I’d feel pretty bad about that.”
When asked if he had weapons in the house, Gray replied “I do” and that “they are” accessible to his son. “I mean, there’s nothing loaded. But they are [accessible]. We do a lot of shooting, we do a lot of deer hunting. He shot his first deer this year,” he continued.
After reflecting on the claims, the father shared his disdain over his son’s alleged actions.
Emergency services swarm the scene at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, in Georgia (WSB-TV Channel 2)
“I’m pretty shocked to be honest with you. I’m a little p****d off to be even really honest with you, if that is what was said,” Gray added.
Further investigation of Colt Gray’s Discord page showed he made the account with 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,” according to the report.
On Thursday, Colin Gray was arrested and charged with 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 used an AR-style rifle to open fire upon students and staff at Apalachee High on Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of two 14-year-old pupils and two teachers.
The boy has been charged with four felony counts of murder and will be tried as an adult. He is expected to appear in court on Friday at 8.30 a.m. ET.
GBI director Chris Hosey said in a statement that the father’s charges stem from “knowingly allowing his son Colt to possess a weapon,” after it was said that he purchased a high-powered, AR-style rifle as a Christmas gift for the teen in December.
