The FBI learned of the identity of the suspected 2023 Apalachee High School shooter during an investigation into the source of online threats.
FOX 10 Phoenix reported that “The FBI, in a joint statement with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, revealed that Gray had been on law enforcement’s radar for more than a year before Wednesday’s school shooting.”
And the Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted: “In May 2023, the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received multiple anonymous tips regarding online threats to commit a school shooting.”
The information led to Colt Gray, then 13, who was questioned by law enforcement and denied making the threats.
Gray’s father was also interviewed and “the father stated that he had shotguns in the house, but the subject did not have unsupervised access to them.”
Gray was placed under surveillance after being questioned, but “there was no probable cause to arrest anyone or take additional law enforcement action at the local, state or federal level,” according to the FBI.
On September 4, 2024, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed that 14-year-old Colt Gray was under arrest, charged with the murder of two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the author/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is a political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, a staff member at Pulsar Night Vision, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a visiting fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and holds a PhD in military history. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up for Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Contact him directly: awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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