Authorities arrest father of high school shooting suspect in Georgia

Authorities in Georgia have arrested 54-year-old Colin Gray , the father of a 14-year-old student suspected of killing four people in a Wednesday shooting at Apalachee High School.

Colin Gray, the father of a 14-year-old student suspected of killing four at Apalachee High School was arrested. (Barrow County Sheriff’s Office)

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says the elder Gray is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children.

“These charges stem from Mr. Gray knowingly allowing his son Colt to possess a weapon,” GBI Director Chris Hosey said at a press conference Thursday evening.

The suspected shooter has been charged with four counts of felony murder . He is expected in court on Friday.

Also on Thursday, authorities said several people were still hospitalized following the shooting. All are expected to make a full recovery and will be able to leave the hospital.

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Colt Gray is charged with murder for the deadly shooting at Apalachee High School. (Barrow County Sheriff’s Office)

In 2023, Colin Gray told a Jackson County Sheriff’s investigator that his son was dealing with bullying at school and had struggled after his parents separated. According to interview transcripts Gray said his son, who was familiar with guns and hunting, “knows the seriousness of weapons and what they can do, and how to use them and not use them.”

Colt Gray, who is charged as an adult, denied making online threats of a shooting when authorities interviewed him in 2023.

The Jackson Country Sheriff’s Office said nothing had justified bringing charges against either Gray or his father in 2023.

“We did not drop the ball at all on this,” Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum told The Associated Press. “We did all we could do with what we had at the time.”

This story was originally published by Scripps News, an E.W. Scripps Company.