The father of the 14-year-old gunman who opened fire at a Georgia high school on Thursday was arrested, in which two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School were killed.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, 54-year-old 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 on Friday.
Authorities say the charges stemmed from the father “knowingly allowing his son” to have a firearm. Colin Gray told law enforcement he bought his son, Colt Gray, the weapon as a Christmas gift in December 2023.
“We’re heartbroken,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said at a news conference on Thursday, adding that the nine people wounded in the shooting are all expected to make a full recovery.
“A young person brought a gun into a school and committed an evil act, and he took lives, and he injured many other people — not only physically but mentally,” he continued.
#UPDATE : Suspect in custody.
— upuknews (@upuknews1) September 4, 2024
Local hospitals have received multiple patients with gunshot wounds following a shooting at Apalachee High School.#Shooting #ApalacheeHighSchool #BarrowCounty #Georgia pic.twitter.com/qVbKEeJvOC
Four killed at Apalachee High School in Georgia in mass shooting with AR-15 style rifle, 14-year-old suspect arrested.
— Sumit (@SumitHansd) September 5, 2024
The Sh**ter named Colt Gray has been on the FBI radar since 2023 pic.twitter.com/B0haEBl35S
The gunman’s father previously told authorities that he had rifles in the house that he uses to hunt but insisted his son "does not have unfettered access to them." The two guns were reportedly "locked away.”
The gunman told investigators, “I did it,” while being questioned by authorities. Documents were also found at Gray’s house that referenced school shootings. Law enforcement believes the teen wrote them.