Colt Gray claimed he’d been hacked on Discord when quizzed on threats before school shooting as Sandy Hook link revealed

THE suspected Apalachee High School shooter attempted to distance himself from a Discord account that had threatened to shoot up a school after being quizzed by investigators.

Colt Gray , 14, was on the FBI ‘s radar a year before he allegedly stormed his high school with an AR-15-style rifle , killing two students and two teachers and injuring nine others.

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The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in Jefferson, Georgia , about 25 miles northeast of the site of the school shooting , was made aware by federal officials of disturbing threats being posted on the popular gaming platform on May 21, 2023, after being anonymously tipped off.

The FBI informed sheriff officials that a “Colin Gray” — the name of Colt’s father — had posted on a Discord group chat about “possibly threatening to shoot up a middle school tomorrow,” per USA Today .

Federal officials received several tips about the menacing threats from users in California , Australia , and a third from Los Angeles .

Officials provided deputies with an address in Jackson County, but when they arrived, they learned Colin and his family had been evicted about three months earlier.

Deputies then tracked down Colin’s new address and learned he had a son, Colt Gray, who was 13 years old at the time.

What we know so far…

• Four people are dead , and nine others were injured, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations confirmed.
• Students Mason Schermerhorn , 14, Christian Angulo, 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie were identified as those killed .
• 14-year-old student Colt Gray was named as the suspected shooter.
• Gray and his dad were interviewed by the FBI a year before after authorities received online threats of a possible school shooting.
• A classmate said Gray was blocked from entering a classroom by a student who spotted his gun .
• Students gathered on the football field after the attack.
• President Biden and Vice President Harris were briefed.
• Devastating texts revealed student’s fear.

When investigators pressed Colin about the threats, the father was clueless about the messaging platform.

“Colin stated he does not know what Discord is, stating that he works full time and does not play video games,” investigators wrote in their report.

That’s when deputies turned their attention to Colt.

Colt told investigators he stopped using Discord about three months ago when the family moved to their new address.

The teen denied ever posting the threats in an interview with officials.

“Colt expressed concern that someone is accusing him of threatening to shoot up a school, stating that he would never say such a thing, even in a joking manner,” the report said.

The report added that the teen seemed “calm and reserved” during the interview.

Timeline of Apalachee High School shooting

Below is a timeline of the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on September 4:

8:30 am – First period begins at AHS

9:45 am – Suspect Colt Gray leaves algebra class, according to his classmate

10:20 am – Police start to receive calls about an active shooter

10:23 am – Law enforcement officers are dispatched to school and arrive in minutes

10:45 am – AHS sends message to parents saying the school is in a hard lockdown

11:20 am – Students are evacuated to the football field

11:56 am – Barrow County Sheriff’s Office reports a suspect is in custody

2:13 pm – Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirms four people were killed and nine were hospitalized with injuries

As Jackson County deputies continued pressing the father and son, they learned Colin had firearms in the house, stating they were “hunting rifles.”

Colin informed the deputies that his son was only allowed to use the weapons when supervised and “did not have unfettered access to them.”

SANDY HOOK LINK

Investigators strongly urged Colin to “keep the firearms locked away” and advised him to pull his son out of school until the matter was resolved.

However, records showed that the school year had already ended at the time of the incident.

Deputies said screengrab attachments were also shared in the tips, including the Discord user’s name, which was written in Russian .

The Russian translation of the user name spelled out “Lanza,” which investigators believed referred to Adam Lanza, the gunman behind the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012.

We did all we could do at the time with what he had.”

Janis Mangum Jackson County sheriff

When pressed on the username, Gray said neither he nor his son understood or spoke Russian.

Colt told investigators he stopped using Discord because “too many people kept hacking his account, and he was afraid someone would use his information for nefarious purposes.”

Investigators ended the probe after determining there was no probable cause to arrest the father and son or definitively link them to the gaming account.

‘DEVASTATING DAY’

Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum told USA Today that cops did everything they could for the investigation at the time.

“We did all we could do at the time with what he had,” Mangum told the outlet.

“My heart goes out to those families, they’re in my prayers. Yesterday was a devastating day.”

Gray’s alleged victims were named as 14-year-old students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angelo and teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie.

Nine people were taken to various hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.

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Christina Irimie

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SCHOOL HORROR

The horrific attack started after Gray left algebra class on Wednesday morning and allegedly attempted to return with a gun – but he was blocked from entering the room , his classmate said.

Student Lyela Sayarath told CNN that Gray left their class around 9:45 am.

The door automatically locked behind him, which stopped him from re-entering the classroom when he tried to come back about 30 minutes later.

Sayarath said that a classmate went to let him in but backed away from the door once they noticed that he had a gun.

The teenager said Gray then went to the classroom next door and allegedly unleashed a round of gunfire as Sayarath and her classmates barricaded themselves in the room.

Teachers acted quickly to call police to the scene by using a brand new safety measure that had been implemented just a week earlier.

HIDDEN PANIC BUTTONS

All teachers in the district have ID badges with a hidden panic button on them, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said on Wednesday.

The wearable technology is made by Centegix, an Atlanta -based campus safety tech company.

“Centegix alarms us and alerts the law enforcement officers after a button is pressed on the ID,” Smith said.

“We’ve had that for about a week now.”

Cops quickly arrived at the scene after the buttons were pressed and arrested Gray, who surrendered.

The suspect is now in custody at Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center, where cops said he’s cooperating with investigators.

Gray is charged with four counts of murder and will be tried as an adult.

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Barrow County Sheriff's Office