The father of the teenager accused in the deadly Apalachee High School shooting has been arrested and charged in the case, the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Thursday night.
“We had reasonable grounds to make the arrest,” GBI Director Chris Hosey said of Colin Gray, 54, at a news conference. “All I can tell you is he’s in custody right now.”
The son, 14-year-old Colt Gray, is charged as an adult with murder in connection with the shooting Wednesday at a Georgia high school outside Atlanta. The Associated Press reports that he denied to investigators that he threatened to carry out a school shooting when authorities questioned him last year about a threatening social media post, according to a sheriff’s report obtained Thursday.
Arrest warrants obtained by the AP accuse Colt Gray of using a semi-automatic assault rifle in the attack, which killed two students and two teachers and wounded nine others.
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Colin Gray is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, Hosey and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a social media post.
Hosey did not provide much information about the circumstances of the father’s arrest, as the investigation remains ongoing.
“This is a time for all of us, as a community and as a state, to come together and remain vigilant,” he said. He also asked students across the state to report any suspicious activity they may witness.
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith, who also spoke at the news conference livestreamed on social media, provided an update on the injured — two adult teachers and the rest students.
“I’m very pleased to say that all nine injured people will make a full recovery,” the sheriff said. “That’s a testament to the response that we’ve had, in my opinion, and the response of the medical staff, in my opinion.”
He noted that several of the victims remain in hospital and some have been released.
Smith said his office met with teachers Thursday, also noting that “emotions were running high, obviously. We told them we love them. We are our teachers and what they do … They stood out from harm’s way to protect the kids.”
We will continue to follow this story.
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