The father of a 14-year-old boy accused of a deadly shooting at a Georgia high school has been arrested, adding new dimensions to a case that has rocked a community and sparked a national debate about parental responsibility in gun violence. The father, Colin Gray, 54, faces multiple charges, including four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children. His son, Colt Gray, has been charged with four counts of murder in connection with the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, that left four people dead and nine others injured. A tragic day in Winder On Wednesday morning, students and teachers at Apalachee High School experienced a horrific event they will never forget. What started out like a normal school day quickly turned into chaos when Colt Gray allegedly opened fire inside the school building. The shooting claimed the lives of two students — 14-year-old Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo — and two teachers, 39-year-old Richard Aspinwall and 53-year-old Christina Irimi. Nine others were injured, some of them in critical condition, but Barrow County Sheriff Judd Smith confirmed in a news conference Thursday that all of the injured are expected to make a full recovery. Several victims had been discharged from the hospital by Thursday evening.
Witnesses described the terrifying moment when Colt returned from his algebra class just minutes later, armed with what authorities believe was an AR-style rifle. He tried to re-enter the classroom, but the door was locked. When some students went to open the door, they reportedly saw the weapon and quickly retreated. This was followed by a volley of 10-15 gunshots that echoed through the school halls. Two school police officers immediately confronted Colt, causing him to immediately surrender.
Investigation and arrest of Colin Gray
While the immediate reaction to the shooting focused on the Colt and the tragic loss of life, attention soon turned to his father, Colin Gray. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) revealed that its charges are “directly tied to his son’s actions and allowing him to possess a weapon.” According to law enforcement sources, investigators are looking into whether Colin Gray purchased an AR-style rifle as a gift for his son in December 2023.
The GBI director, Chris Hosie, emphasized the severity of the charges in a news conference Thursday evening. “These charges show a direct connection between Mr. Gray’s actions and his son’s ability to commit this crime,” Hosie said. “This is about accountability and making sure firearms don’t end up in the hands of people who shouldn’t have them.”
Early warning signs and missed opportunities
The tragedy has also shed light on the months before the shooting, during which there were obvious red flags that may have been overlooked or inadequately addressed. In May 2023, the FBI alerted local police to online threats involving a school shooting. These threats were reportedly linked to an email address associated with Colt Gray. At the time, Colt was just 13 years old.
Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to interview both Colt and his father. According to a police report of that visit released Thursday, the boy appeared “composed” and “calm.” He denied making any threats and claimed he had deleted his Discord account — a popular online platform among gamers — because it had been repeatedly hacked. Colin Gray assured law enforcement that while there were guns in the home, Colt did not have unsupervised access to them.
However, the incident report also revealed some disturbing details. The account associated with the online threats reportedly had a profile name in Russian, which translated to be the nickname of the attacker responsible for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, which killed 26 people. The combination of this disturbing reference and the boy’s alleged access to firearms could have prompted further investigation, but the case did not proceed at the time.
Family dynamics and the roots of the tragedy
The Gray family was going through a period of turmoil even before the shooting. Police records show that Colt’s parents were in the process of divorcing, and he was living with his father, Colin Gray, during the separation. The boy’s maternal grandfather, Charlie Polhamus, offered his perspective to the New York Times, citing the family environment as a contributing factor. “I understand that my grandson did a terrible thing — there’s no doubt about that, and he will pay the price for it,” Polhamus said. “But my grandson did what he did because of the environment he lived in.”
Colin Gray previously told police during an interview that his son struggled with isolation and was also bullied at school. The father-son duo often went hunting together, and Colin even drew a picture of Colt with deer blood smeared on his cheeks, which some hunters perform as a rite of passage.
