Suspected school shooter brought rifle in backpack, GBI says
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ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the suspected shooter in last week’s deadly Apalachee High School shooting brought an AR-style rifle with him to school in a backpack.
On Thursday, the GBI said Colt Gray, 14, who has been charged with four counts of felony murder, asked a teacher if he could go to the front office and speak with someone. The teacher, the GBI said, allowed Gray to leave and take his belongings with him. Gray, according to police, then went to a restroom and hid from teachers.
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Later, according to the GBI, Gray took out the rifle and began shooting.
The GBI said the assault-style rifle suspected of being used in the shooting could not be broken down, but Gray, the agency said, nonetheless was able to conceal it in his backpack.
Gray is the suspect in the shooting that left two students and two teachers dead and nine others hospitalized on Wednesday. Police have said Gray will tried as an adult. He has been booked in the Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center and is facing four counts of felony murder.
Suspected shooter’s dad seeks separation from other inmates
The father of the suspected Apalachee High School shooter, also facing charges himself, filed a motion to be separated from the other inmates in Barrow County custody.
The father, Colin Gray, 54, was charged this past Friday with four counts of involuntary manslaughter; two counts of second-degree murder; and eight counts of cruelty to children. Police say he knowingly allowed his son, Colt Gray, to have access to an AR-15-style rifle that was allegedly used in the shooting.
A Dec. 4, 2024, court date has been set for both Colt Gray and Colin Gray. Brad Smith, district attorney for the Piedmont Judicial Circuit, said a grand jury has been emed and will consider formal charges against them on Oct. 17, 2024.
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Since the shooting that killed four people nearly a week ago at Apalachee High School, school resource officers there have been praised for their response to the shooting.
Meanwhile, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said the Apalachee shooting affected the state much like the 9/11 attacks did.
“Just as our nation was shaken to its core 23 years ago, so too was our state just one week ago today, when we lost four Georgians and witnessed even more injured by evil and senseless actions just as we did in the days following the September 11th attacks,” Kemp said during a ceremony marking the anniversary of 9/11.
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