WINDER, Ga. (AP) — The 14-year-old accused of fatally shooting four people at his high school in Georgia was expected to make his first court appearance Friday, a day after his father was also arrested for allowing his son to have a weapon.
According to arrest warrants obtained by The Associated Press, Colt Gray is accused of using a semiautomatic assault-style rifle to kill two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder, outside Atlanta. Nine people were also hurt in Wednesday’s attack. Authorities have not offered any motive or explained how Gray obtained the gun or got it into the school.
The teen’s father, Colin Gray, 54, was charged Thursday in connection with the shooting, including with counts of involuntary manslaughter and second-degree murder, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey.
“His charges are directly connected with the actions of his son and allowing him to possess a weapon,” Hosey said. Colin Gray’s first court appearance has not been set.
It’s the latest example of prosecutors holding parents responsible for their children’s actions in school shootings. In April, Michigan parents Jennifer and James Crumbley were the first convicted in a U.S. mass school shooting. They were sentenced to at least 10 years in prison for not securing a firearm at home and acting indifferently to signs of their son’s deteriorating mental health before he killed four students in 2021.
Colt Gray — who was charged as an adult with four counts of murder in the deaths of Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53 — will appear by video from a youth detention facility for the proceedings at the Barrow County courthouse.
The teen denied threatening to carry out a school shooting when authorities interviewed him last year about a menacing post on social media, according to a sheriff’s report obtained Thursday.
Conflicting evidence on the post’s origin left investigators unable to arrest anyone, the report said. Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum said she reviewed the report from May 2023 and found nothing that would have justified bringing charges at the time.
The attack was the latest among dozens of school shootings across the U.S. in recent years, including especially deadly ones in Newtown, Connecticut; Parkland, Florida; and Uvalde, Texas. The classroom killings have set off fervent debates about gun control but there has been little change to national gun laws.
It was the 30th mass killing in the U.S. so far this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. At least 127 people have died in those killings, which are defined as events in which four or more people die within a 24-hour period, not including the killer — the same definition used by the FBI.
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: A law enforcement officer holds a roll of caution tape after a shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Multiple fatalities and injuries have been reported and a suspect is in custody according to authorities.(Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: A woman is comforted while on the phone after a shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Four fatalities and multiple injuries have been reported, and a 14-year-old suspect is in custody according to authorities. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: A mother and daughter watch as an ambulance leaves after a shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Multiple fatalities and injuries have been reported and a suspect is in custody according to authorities.(Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: A police line is put up in front of Apalachee High School after a school shooting took place on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Multiple fatalities and injuries have been reported and a suspect is in custody according to authorities. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: Cars line the road as parents arrive to meet students after a shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Multiple fatalities and injuries have been reported and a suspect is in custody according to authorities. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: Law enforcement and first responders work at the scene as students wait to be picked up by their parents after a shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Multiple fatalities and injuries have been reported and a suspect is in custody according to authorities. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: Students walk off campus with their families after a shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Four fatalities and multiple injuries have been reported, and a 14-year-old suspect is in custody according to authorities. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: Officers hold guns while talking outside after a shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Four fatalities and multiple injuries have been reported, and a 14-year-old suspect is in custody according to authorities. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: Students walk off campus with their families after a shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Four fatalities and multiple injuries have been reported, and a 14-year-old suspect is in custody according to authorities. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: Law enforcement works at the scene as students wait to be picked up by their parents after a shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Multiple fatalities and injuries have been reported and a suspect is in custody according to authorities. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: Students wait to be picked up by their parents after a shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Multiple fatalities and injuries have been reported and a suspect is in custody according to authorities. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: Cars are parked on the lawn of the school after a shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Four fatalities and multiple injuries have been reported, and a 14-year-old suspect is in custody according to authorities. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: A father walks by Apalachee High School with his son on his shoulders as after a school shooting on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Multiple fatalities and injuries have been reported and a suspect is in custody according to authorities. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)S
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: Students walk off campus with their families after a shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Four fatalities and multiple injuries have been reported, and a 14-year-old suspect is in custody according to authorities. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: Gretchen Gierlach, a member of the community, came to Apalachee High School to demonstrates after a shooting there on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Four fatalities and multiple injuries have been reported, and a 14-year-old suspect is in custody according to authorities. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith speaks to the media after a shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Four fatalities and multiple injuries have been reported, and a 14-year-old suspect is in custody according to authorities. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey speaks to the media after a shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Four fatalities and multiple injuries have been reported, and a 14-year-old suspect is in custody according to authorities. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: Students and family members are line up nearby after a shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Four fatalities and multiple injuries have been reported, and a 14-year-old suspect is in custody according to authorities. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: Cars line the road as parents arrive to meet students after a shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Multiple fatalities and injuries have been reported and a suspect is in custody according to authorities. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: Students are directed to be picked up by their parents after a shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Four fatalities and multiple injuries have been reported, and a 14-year-old suspect is in custody according to authorities. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: Students wait to be picked up by their parents after a school shooting took place on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Multiple fatalities and injuries have been reported and a suspect is in custody according to authorities.(Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: A school bus sits on site after a shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Multiple fatalities and injuries have been reported and a suspect is in custody according to authorities.(Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
WINDER, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 4: Students wait to be picked up by their parents after a shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Multiple fatalities and injuries have been reported and a suspect is in custody according to authorities. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
Massive police presence at Appalachee High School in Barrow County
Law enforcement arrive as students are evacuated to the football stadium after the school campus was placed on lockdown at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)
Students are evacuated to the football stadium after the school campus was placed on lockdown at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (WSB via AP)
Law enforcement arrive as students are evacuated to the football stadium after the school campus was placed on lockdown at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)
Students are evacuated to the football stadium after the school campus was placed on lockdown at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Erin Clark via AP)
Law enforcement arrive as students are evacuated to the football stadium after the school campus was placed on lockdown at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Erin Clark via AP)
Students are evacuated to the football stadium after the school campus was placed on lockdown at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (Erin Clark via AP)
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
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