An audio transcript from 2023 revealed that Colin Gray, father of 14-year-old Georgia school shooter Colt Gray, previously bragged about his son’s hunting abilities while speaking with police. The teen is facing four counts of felony murder for the September 4 shooting at Apalachee High School, resulting in the death of four individuals.
In May of that year, law enforcement interviewed Colt regarding alleged threats to commit a school shooting, and the FBI’s Atlanta Division stated that Colin explained to investigators that his son did not have unsupervised access to them, and Colt denied making the threats online. According to PEOPLE, Colin said during the interview that he was teaching his son about guns and hunting to encourage him to spend more time outdoors and reduce his screen time. The document states that Colin was excitedly showing the officers a picture of Colt after his first deer hunt, which he calls “the greatest day ever.”
When asked if the guns were accessible, Colt reportedly admitted they were but noted that they were not loaded. He added, “We do a lot of shooting; we do a lot of deer hunting.” Colin responded to the threats with anger and vowed to restrict Colt’s access to the guns. Despite the concerns, the FBI concluded that there was no probable cause for an arrest or further action, but local schools were notified to continue monitoring the situation.
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The tragic shooting on September 4 claimed the lives of two 14-year-old students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, as well as two teachers, Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53. Nine others were injured but are expected to recover fully. Colt and Colin Gray appeared in court on September 6, and Colt will be tried as an adult but will not face the death penalty due to his age. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for December 4. Colin, if convicted, could face up to 180 years in prison. Police arrested and charged him with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children.