Colt Gray, the teen suspected of gunning down four people at a Georgia high school Wednesday, has been on the FBI’s radar since last year — when he was investigated by local authorities in connection to online school shooting threats, the bureau revealed.
In May 2023, the FBI received several anonymous tips about threats to carry out violence at an unidentified school, with the harrowing posts including photos of guns, according to a Wednesday night statement from the bureau’s Atlanta field office.
The Jackson County Sheriffs’ Office identified Gray, then 13, as a possible suspect and interviewed him and his father.
Gray’s dad told investigators at the time that he had hunting guns in the house — but his son didn’t have unsupervised access to them, according to the statement
Gray, now 14, also denied making the school shooting threats.
There was no probable cause to take any further action, however local schools were alerted “for continued monitoring” of Gray, per the statement.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey confirmed that authorities are probing any possible links between the 2023 threats and Wednesday’s shooting at Apalachee High School.
“This is not recent. This is in the past, but we wanted to bring that to your attention because we are pursuing that, working with the FBI on this in any connection to that incident that could be connected to today’s incident as well,” Hosey told reporters in a Wednesday night press briefing.
Hosey also said that investigators have been made aware that Gray’s family had contact with children’s services in the area.
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“We are pursuing that avenue as well to see if that has any connection with today’s incident,” the director said.
Gray allegedly opened fire at Apalachee High School with an AR-style weapon around 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, officials said.
Two students, identified as Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angelo, both 14, and two math teachers, Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie, were killed.
Another nine people were rushed to local hospitals with gunshot wounds, including special education math teacher David Phenix.
Gray “immediately surrendered” to two school resource officers who responded to the shooting and he was taken into custody, Hosey said.
The shooter’s motive remains under investigation.
Law enforcement said that they have interviewed Gray, his family members and others associated with the teen since his arrest.
“I don’t know why it happened. We may never know,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said.
He will be charged with murder as an adult, officials said.
“This is everybody’s worst nightmare,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp told reporters Wednesday night at the scene.
“These are our neighbors. These are our friends. And this community is hurting today,” he continued.
“And I would just ask all Georgians and all Americans to continue to keep these families, these educators and these students in your thoughts and prayers.”
