The mother of the 14-year-old charged with murder after a school shooting in Georgia called the school before the incident, warning staff of an “extreme emergency” involving her son. Annie Brown, the suspect’s aunt, shared text messages from her sister, the suspect’s mother, urging the school to check on her son immediately. The family also made a call to the school about 30 minutes before the shooting. The suspect, Colt Gray, has been charged with murder for the deaths of two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School, while his father, Colin Gray, faces a second-degree murder charge for providing Colt with the weapon.
During their first court appearance, the attorneys for Colt and Colin Gray did not seek bail for the suspects. A year prior to the shooting, Jackson County authorities had investigated Colt Gray in connection with an online threat posted on a social media site. However, the investigation did not find clear evidence linking him to the threat. The investigation shed light on the struggles Colt faced due to his parents’ separation and taunting by his classmates. Colin Gray described his son as getting flustered under pressure and not thinking straight, emphasizing his love for the outdoors and hunting.
Colin Gray expressed pride in his son shooting a deer months before the shooting, emphasizing their shared passion for hunting and shooting. There was no mention in the investigation of the Gray family owning an assault-style rifle. Following an eviction in 2022, during which weapons were recovered by a sheriff’s deputy, Colin’s wife left him with their younger children. This incident added to Colt’s struggles, as acknowledged by his father, who worked as a construction worker to support the family.
Middle school had also been challenging for Colt Gray, with the young boy frequently getting picked on by his classmates. Despite facing taunting and ridicule, Colin Gray emphasized that Colt did not want trouble and just wanted to go to school and do his own thing. The investigation also revealed that Colt had denied making any threats and claimed his social media account had been hacked. The father insisted that his son was quiet, calm, and reserved, not the type to threaten violence. These details provide insight into the troubled background of the Gray family prior to the tragic school shooting incident.
