According to investigators, Colt Gray used an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle to carry out the attack, killing two teachers and two students.Sources say the rifle was purchased by Colin Gray as a Christmas present for his son, just months after the family had been questioned about online threats related to a potential school shooting.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) confirmed Colin Gray’s arrest on Thursday. “In coordination with District Attorney Brad Smith, the GBI has arrested Colin Gray, age 54, in connection to the shooting at Apalachee High School. Colin is Colt Gray’s father,” the GBI posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Last year, both father and son were questioned by local authorities after threats appeared on a Discord account tied to potential violence at a school. However, no concrete evidence linked them to the threats. The father had claimed that while he kept hunting guns in the house, his son did not have unsupervised access. “This case was worked, and at the time the boy was 13, and it wasn’t enough to substantiate,” explained Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum. “If we get a judge’s order or we charge somebody, we take firearms for safekeeping.”
Despite these assurances, investigators now believe that the rifle used in Wednesday’s shooting was purchased after the initial probe. The timeline, provided by Colin Gray, places the gun purchase months after authorities investigated the family. The ease with which Colt Gray was able to access the weapon remains a key point of focus in the ongoing investigation.
“This case was worked thoroughly last year, but at the time, the evidence wasn’t strong enough to confiscate their weapons,” Mangum added. “If we had solid proof, we would have taken the guns for safekeeping.”
Jackson County investigators had closed the 2023 case after they were unable to link the Grays to the online threats or justify seizing their firearms. Now, with devastating consequences, the case has resurfaced with new urgency.
Colt Gray was arrested shortly after the shooting and is being held without bond at the Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center. The GBI has announced that he will be tried as an adult, with his arraignment scheduled for Friday morning via video in Barrow County Superior Court.
The tragic shooting marks the first US school mass shooting of the new academic year, and investigators are working to determine whether warning signs were missed and if more could have been done to prevent Colt Gray from obtaining the weapon that led to this senseless tragedy.
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