Student charged in school shooting previously denied making threats, report says
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Flowers lay in front of the school sign outside of Apalachee High School on September 5, 2024 in Winder. Photo: Jessica McGowan/Getty Images
The 14-year-old charged in Wednesday's deadly mass shooting at a Georgia high school told sheriff's deputies last year that he would never threaten to commit such an act, according to a report shared with Axios Thursday.
Why it matters: Colt Gray is accused of using an "AR-platform-style weapon" to kill Apalachee High School students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and math teachers Christina Irimie, 53, and Richard Aspinwall, 39, who was also an assistant football coach, GBI director Chris Hosey previously said. Nine others were injured.
- Gray, who Hosey said will be tried as an adult, is charged with four counts of felony murder. The GBI says his first court appearance is set for Friday at 8:30am.
- His father, Colin Gray, was arrested late Thursday and charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two of second degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children in connection with the attack, the GBI announced.
The latest: An incident report the Jackson County Sheriff's Office shared with Axios Thursday sheds more light on an investigation involving the suspected shooter from last year.
Context: The investigation stemmed from anonymous tips sent to the FBI's National Threat Operations Center "about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time," the FBI said.
- It determined the post originated in Georgia, and referred the information to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.
Zoom in: On May 21, 2023, two sheriff's deputies visited a home in Jefferson, Ga., and interviewed Colin Gray and his son, Colt, who was 13 at the time.
- According to the newly released incident report, the threat was made in a chat group on Discord, an instant messaging platform primarily used by gamers.
- Colt Gray told the sheriff's deputies at the time that he used to have a Discord account but deleted it because "too many people kept hacking his account and he was afraid someone would use his information for nefarious purposes."
- "Colt expressed concern that someone is accusing him of threatening to shoot up a school, stating that he would never say such a thing, even in a joking manner," according to one deputy's narrative.
Colin Gray told the deputy during the visit that he had hunting rifles in the home, but his son was only allowed to use them under supervision.
- The deputy urged the father to keep the firearms locked up, according to the report.
- "The juvenile appeared quit [sic], calm and reserved while we spoke to him and Colin, his father," one deputy wrote.
The intrigue: The responding officer in the report said they could not substantiate the claim that tied Colt Gray to the Discord account because of what they referred to as inconsistencies in the tip that was sent to the FBI.
- Information submitted to the FBI indicates the account was created on April 2, 2023 — outside the timeframe of when Colt said he deleted his account.
- The profile's user name was written in Russian, and its translated letters spell "Lanza," which the agency said is a reference to Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooter.
- Colin Gray told deputies his son did not know or speak Russian during the visit in 2023.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with new information.