Colt Gray, a 14-year-old linked to the shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, Georgia, had been under the FBI’s scrutiny since last year, as per officials.
Gray is alleged to have caused the deaths of four individuals, comprising two students and two teachers, and injuring nine others in a violent outburst that took place on Wednesday, September 4th.
The FBI’s Atlanta field office indicated in a statement that they had received multiple anonymous tips in May 2023 concerning online threats associated with a possible school shooting.
https://twitter.com/FBIAtlanta/status/1831485435379364045?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The presence of gun photos in the threats led to an inquiry by the authorities in Jackson County, where Gray and his family resided at that time.
Gray, who was 13 years old then, was identified as a potential suspect by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and was interviewed along with his father.
The father acknowledged having hunting guns at home but assured the authorities that Gray did not have unsupervised access to them.
Gray denied being behind the threats, and due to lack of probable cause, no additional legal measures were pursued. Nevertheless, local schools were informed to monitor the teenager closely.
Wednesday morning saw Gray reportedly entering Apalachee High School with an AR-style weapon and initiating gunfire around 10:30 a.m.
Among the casualties were two 14-year-old students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angelo, along with teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie. In addition, nine others sustained injuries, including David Phenix, a special education math teacher who was rushed to the hospital for gunshot wounds.
Katie Phenix, daughter of David Phenix, verified in a Facebook post that her father had undergone surgery after being shot in the foot and hip, resulting in a shattered hip bone.
“We are so, so lucky, but please keep our family as well as the AHS family in your prayers,” she wrote.
Gray was arrested shortly after the attack when he “immediately surrendered” to two school resource officers who responded to the scene. Law enforcement has interviewed Gray, his family, and others close to him to try and piece together a motive.
As of now, officials have not determined why Gray carried out the shooting or whether anyone was specifically targeted. “I don’t know why it happened. We may never know,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said. Gray is expected to be charged as an adult with murder.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has confirmed that they are looking into potential connections between Gray’s online threats in 2023 and Wednesday’s shooting.
“This is not recent, but we wanted to bring that to your attention because we are pursuing that, working with the FBI on any connection to that incident that could be related to today’s,” said GBI Director Chris Hosey.
He also mentioned that Gray’s family had previous interaction with children’s services, and authorities are looking into whether this had any connection to the shooting.
The Barrow County School System has stated that all schools in the district will be closed for the remainder of the week as law enforcement proceeds with its inquiry.
During this challenging period, grief counseling services will be provided to students and staff.
“This is everybody’s worst nightmare,” Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said in a statement. “These are our neighbors. These are our friends. And this community is hurting today.”
Gray’s situation has sparked renewed conversations about the importance of early intervention and how authorities address potential threats.
Even though he was brought to the attention of the FBI and local law enforcement a year ago, no substantial measures were taken, leading to a tragic outcome just over a year later.
Investigators are now responsible for determining if any warning signals were overlooked and identifying alternative actions that could have been taken to avert this heartbreaking incident.
