GBI: Alleged Georgia school shooter planned attack, given rifle for Christmas

The 14-year-old accused of killing four people at Apalachee High School planned out the mass shooting in a notebook and used a rifle his father gave him for Christmas, authorities said Wednesday.

Colt Gray also sent cryptic text messages to his parents before carrying out the deadliest school shooting in Georgia history, prompting his mother to call the high school and alert a counselor about 32 minutes before the first shots were fired, a GBI agent testified.

At a preliminary hearing held in Barrow County for Colt Gray’s father, GBI Special Agent Lucas Beyer said a black notebook belonging to the teen was recovered from the school after the Sept. 4 shooting that killed two teachers and two students and injured nine others. Wednesday’s testimony provided one of the most detailed accounts to date of what authorities said happened that day.

Colt Gray is charged with four counts of murder and additional charges are expected, the DA’s office said. His father, Colin Gray, faces four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children. During the hearing, the judge ruled there was probable cause for Colin Gray’s charges and said the case can proceed.

In the black notebook, Beyer said Colt Gray had various writings and drawings that appeared to be a plan for how to execute the shooting and estimations of casualty counts. Authorities found another notebook while searching Gray’s home that included stick-figure drawings of Gray’s second period classroom.

Authorities said Gray’s mother had grown increasingly worried about her son’s access to firearms, regularly imploring his father, Colin Gray, to keep the weapons locked up.

“She had indicated to both of them that she wanted the weapons locked away so they were not accessible,” GBI Special Agent Kelsey Ward said on the stand.

Gray’s parents had sought to get him counseling in the weeks leading up to the shooting and had even planned to take him to a behavioral center in Athens on Aug. 31 but that never materialized, investigators learned. The night before that scheduled trip, his parents had an argument about their son’s access to guns and never ended up taking him, Ward said.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

The weapon used in the shooting, a SIG Sauer M400, was purchased by Colin Gray in November 2023, as a Christmas gift for his son. The elder Gray later bought his son a tactical vest, ammunition and sights for the weapon, agents testified. Colin Gray also told investigators he bought larger-capacity magazines for the rifle at his son’s request.

Investigators located ammunition in multiple rooms across the house, including inside Colt’s bedroom. Colt and his father regularly visited the gun range and spent time the week before the shooting adjusting the new rifle sight in the backyard of their home. Colt Gray kept the rifle in his bedroom, authorities said.

On Aug. 26, a little over a week before the shooting, Colt Gray referenced the Parkland, Florida, high school shooting during a phone call with his grandmother.

The GBI said he asked her, “If something terrible happened to me or if I did something terrible would you still love me?”

Agents said they discovered “a shrine of sorts” dedicated to school shootings in Colt Gray’s gaming room, including article clippings and news photos that were tacked to the wall behind the teen’s computer desk. Among the photographs was a picture of the Parkland shooter.

On the stand, Beyer read excerpts from Colt Gray’s black notebook describing how the high schooler planned to carry out his attack, starting with going to the school’s bathroom.

“I’ll set my bag down, open it, put on a vest, take a moment or two to stay calm and really think about if I want to do this,” Beyer read from the notebook. “Take out the poster covering the rifle, take out rifle and prop it against the stall. Vest should be on at this point, get out gloves, put them on, they are in your backpack.”

Gray took the bus to school that morning but couldn’t conceal the entire gun in his backpack.

“We determined that the rifle was protruding out of the bookbag and the part of the rifle that was protruding from the bookbag was concealed with a rolled-up poster board,” Beyer testified.

At a quick glance, it appeared Colt Gray was simply transporting a school project, he said.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

The black notebook included a reminder to make sure his sight was on and his vest was tight along with instructions to, “Put on hat, make sure hair is out of your face.”

Gray entered the school and went to his first period class on G Hall, where he didn’t talk to any other students, the agent said. Around 8:30 a.m., he asked his first period teacher to use the bathroom and entered the G Hall restroom before he returned to the classroom after a few minutes.

After first period, Gray left the classroom and headed to J Hall for his second period class. After sitting down in the classroom, Gray took out the black notebook and placed it on his desk and was seen through video surveillance using his phone.

At around 9:54 a.m., Gray asked permission to go see the school counselor, taking his backpack but leaving the black notebook behind. Investigators said Gray went to the bathroom instead, spending about 20 minutes in the first stall preparing for the shooting.

He exited the bathroom at 10:21 a.m., wearing yellow gloves, with the white poster board now wrapped across his lower torso concealing something. He returned to his second period classroom and stood outside, but the door was locked so he knocked.

Beyer said a student in the classroom approached the door and looked through the window at Gray. The student then put his hand on his mouth and called the teacher, who approached the door. The teacher told students to go to the corner of the classroom. The teacher then pressed the button to initiate a school lockdown.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Gray turned left and went to another classroom and opened fire. Beyer said about six to seven people were injured in the classroom, including Christian Angulo who was shot and killed.

After shooting into the classroom, Gray ran down J Hall where he encountered teacher Cristina Irimie . He fired several rounds, killing her, agents said. Gray continued on to I Hall, which intersects J Hall, and there he encountered Coach Richard Aspinwal l and another coach before discharging multiple rounds at both, killing Aspinwall and injuring the other coach.

Gray then returned to J Hall. Once he reached the end of the hall, he turned around and saw Mason Schermerhorn exiting the bathroom before he allegedly shot and killed him. After shooting Schermerhorn, officers arrived to J Hall, where they encountered Gray who surrendered to authorities.

The morning of the shooting, Colin Gray told investigators he received concerning text messages from Colt’s mother and others. Colin Gray told investigators he returned home from work, turned on the news and saw that the shooting had occurred. He then went into Colt’s room and realized his son’s rifle was missing.

Authorities said Colt Gray texted both parents less than an hour before the shooting.

“I’m sorry. It’s not your fault ... .” he texted his dad at 9:42 a.m. “You’re not to blame for any of it.”

Eight minutes later, Ward testified, he texted his mom: “I’m sorry.”

That prompted his mother to call the high school counselor and tell her “she wanted the school to put hands on him immediately and determine where he was inside the building,” agents said.

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