School ‘shooter’ Colt Gray and his dad face new charges as cops find sick ‘shrine’ and warning signs ‘ignored by family’
THE suspected teenage gunman accused of killing four people and injuring nine others in a Georgia school shooting has been hit with additional charges.
Colt Gray, 14, is now facing 55 total criminal counts in connection with the mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, Georgia, on September 4.
The teenager, who was already facing four counts of murder, was indicted on 22 counts of aggravated assault and 18 counts of cruelty to children in the first degree.
His father, Colin Gray, 54, was also slapped with 29 additional charges, including 19 counts of cruelty to children in the second degree.
Gray was arrested a day after his son allegedly used an AR-15-style rifle to kill two of his peers and two teachers at his Georgia high school.
Investigators said the father, who was initially charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of second-degree murder, purchased the rifle allegedly used in the shooting for his son as a Christmas gift last year.
‘SHRINE’ TO SCHOOL SHOOTERS
Since the bloodshed of September 4, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations has provided new details about the timeline leading up to the shooting.
Colt, who was interviewed by police in May 2023 for allegedly making school shooting threats on the online gaming platform Discord, kept a shrine to school shooters in his room, according to Fox affiliate WAGA-TV.
Investigators uncovered the disturbing sight when they raided Colt’s home after the shooting at Apalachee High School.
The apparent shrine was found behind Colt’s computer desk in his house and contained about 15 photographs and newspaper clippings of previous shooting shooters, GBI officials testified.
Investigators believe Colt was “fascinated with similar incidents.”
COLT’S ‘CHECKLIST’
During their search of Colt’s home, investigators also uncovered a notebook that belonged to the teen, which contained drawings that eerily matched the events of the Apalachee High School shooting.
The notes included a checklist outlining steps Colt planned to take, according to GBI officials.
The checklist included instructions like wearing gloves, chambering a round in his gun, checking his vest, putting on a hat, and avoiding shooting anything in the bathroom to prevent alerting others, Georgia investigators said.
The notebook also included drawings of stick figures with wounds with “Shoot the teacher first” written next to the images.
Marcee Gray, Colt’s mother, told investigators that she grew concerned about her son’s growing obsession with guns.
The mother told police about her past conversations with Colt, where he referenced and made disturbing jokes about the Columbine High School and Sandy Hook Elementary mass shootings.
Marcee recalled her son asking his father to buy him a “shooter’s mask” and jokingly said he needed it to “finish his school shooter outfit.”
Both Colt and his father are due back in court on November 21 to be arraigned on the new charges.
Apalachee High School shooting
On September 4, 2024, a gunman killed four and wounded multiple others in a school shooting at Apalachee High in Winder, Georgia, which is about an hour and a half drive from Atlanta.
Student Colt Gray, 14, was named as the shooter who killed two students and two teachers. Nine others were wounded in the attack.
The victims killed in the shooting were identified as:
- Student Mason Schermerhorn, 14,
- Student Christian Angulo, 14
- Teacher Richard Aspinwall, 39
- Teacher Christina Irimie, 53
Gray was arrested and charged with four counts of felony murder. He is set to be tried as an adult for the crimes.
Gray’s dad Colin Gray, 54, was also arrested and charged after buying his son the gun that was used in the shooting.
The father and son were indicted on dozens of additional charges on October 17 as disturbing new details about the rampage emerged.
Colt allegedly smuggled an AR-15-style rifle inside his backpack into Apalachee High School on September 4 and opened fire on students and staff after his second-period algebra class, investigators said.
The shooting left four dead, including students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, as well as teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie.
Colt was arrested at the scene after surrendering to school resource officers.
Family members previously told The New York Times that Colt had a troubled upbringing riddled with abuse and neglect.
“My grandson did what he did because of the environment that he lived in,” Charles Polhamus, Colt’s grandfather, told the outlet.
“The adults in his life let him down,” Colt’s aunt, Annie Brown, added.
Brown said her nephew was “actively seeking help” for his mental health but didn’t find the support he needed from those around him.
Colt, who is being charged as an adult, is facing life in prison if convicted.
His father is facing up to 180 years in prison if convicted.
Timeline of Apalachee High School shooting
Below is a timeline of the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on September 4:
8:30 am – First period begins at AHS
9:45 am – Suspect Colt Gray leaves algebra class, according to his classmate
10:20 am – Police start to receive calls about an active shooter
10:23 am – Law enforcement officers are dispatched to school and arrive in minutes
10:45 am – AHS sends message to parents saying the school is in a hard lockdown
11:20 am – Students are evacuated to the football field
11:56 am – Barrow County Sheriff’s Office reports a suspect is in custody
2:13 pm – Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirms four people were killed and nine were hospitalized with injuries