Authorities say suspected Georgia school shooter hid gun in backpack, left class before rampage

Officials investigating the Apalachee High School shooting in Georgia last week have given more details into how the suspected gunman was able to get a gun into school.

An update posted online Thursday morning from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said that the gun used in the attack "could not be broken down," but that the suspected shooter — a 14-year-old student — hid the assault-style rifle in his backpack. Investigators added that the shooter was given permission to leave class shortly before he opened fire.

"[The suspect] asked a teacher if he could go to the front office and speak to someone. The teacher allowed him to leave and take his belongings with him," the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. "[He] went to the restroom and hid from teachers. Later, he took out the rifle, and began shooting."

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The 14-year-old faces four counts of felony murder in connection with the rampage that left four people dead and nine others injured. Authorities said additional charges are forthcoming and that the teen will be tried as an adult. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

Meanwhile, the boy's father, Colin Gray, has also been arrested and charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children. Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said the charges stem from the father "knowingly allowing his son ... to possess a weapon."

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. Authorities were following up on reports from an FBI tip line that someone had posted messages threatening to commit a school shooting.

The FBI said the boy denied making the threats and his father said his son didn't have "unsupervised" access to hunting guns in the house.
Additionally, Gray said his son "knows the seriousness of weapons and what they can do, and how to use them and not use them."

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The FBI said that immediately following the interviews, "there was no probable cause for arrest or to take any additional law enforcement action on the local, state or federal levels." The Jackson County Sheriff's Office also said nothing had justified bringing charges against either the teenager or his father in 2023.

Nonetheless, both of the suspect's parents had expressed concerns over their son's struggles. His father told authorities he was bullied at school, and his mother called the school roughly half an hour before the shooting occurred to warn staff of an "extreme emergency," urging the counselor to check on her son.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says its investigation into the shooting is still ongoing, but the agency plans to provide a timeline of events "at the appropriate time."