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As it happenedended1725680946

Georgia school shooting: Colt Gray appeared in court as more charges planned against suspect, DA says

Apalachee High School shooting suspect and his father Colin Gray both appeared in a Georgia courthouse this morning

James Liddell,Katie Hawkinson
Saturday 07 September 2024 04:49
New police audio reveals investigators interviewing suspected school shooter’s father in 2023

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Washington Bureau Chief

Georgia school mass shooting suspect Colt Gray and his father Colin Gray faced a judge Friday at the Barrow County Courthouse in Georgia for their arraignment.

Judge Currie Mingledorff II told the Apalachee High School shooting suspect that he could face life in prison if convicted on any of the four felony murder counts held against him. The 14-year-old is being tried as an adult, however, the judge ruled out the possibility of a death sentence due to being younger than 18.

Colin Gray, 54, who faced Judge Mingledorff in the same courtroom about 45 minutes after his son, was told he could be sentenced up to 180 years in prison. The dad faces four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Colt Gray is accused of opening fire on staff and students at Apalachee High School in Winder with an AR-style rifle, resulting in the deaths of two 14-year-old pupils and two teachers on Wednesday.

His father allegedly bought the semi-automatic weapon for his son as a Christmas present.

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More than $500k raised for families school shooting victims in under 48 hours

More than $500,000 has been raised in under 48 hours since suspected gunman Colt Gray allegedly opened fire on staff and students of Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday.

Four people - two 14-year-old students, two teachers - were pronounced dead.

GoFundMe account set up to support fallen math teacher Richard ‘Ricky’ Aspinwall’s family has seen donations pour in from more than 5,000 people, amounting to just shy of $300,000 at the tome of writing.

Christian Angulo’s sister Lisette has spoken as she laments the loss of her 14-year-old brother on a GoFundMe page, which has received $133,500.

The family of Mason Schermerhorn, 14, has also received approximately $131,000 on the GoFundMe page.

All three fundraisers were set up to help with funeral costs and support the families of those killed in the shooting.

James Liddell6 September 2024 10:15
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Inside school shooting suspect mother’s criminal past

Marcee Gray, the mother of Colt Gray, was first arrested in March 2007 on five vehicle-related misdmeanors, including reckless driving, improper right turn, and DUI.

She pleaded guilty in June 2008, paying a $600 fine and receiving 12 months probation, plus 40 hours of community service, according to a review of Fulton County, Georgia court records.

In November 2023, Gray was arrested on a pair of felony drug possession charges after allegedly getting caught in her car with methamphetamine and fentanyl, according to an arrest warrant.

(Ben Hill County Sheriff's Office)

She was also hit with misdemeaors for possessing prescription pain pill cyclobenzaprine and for affixing someone else’s license plate to her Nissan Rogue, records show.

Gray ultimately pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors: second-degree criminal damage to property, criminal trespass, and use of a license plate to conceal identity.

Although she faced a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, Gray was sentenced to a month-and-a-half in jail, which was all but canceled out with credit for time served, plus roughly five years of felony probation, according to plea documents in the case.

Gray also faced civil charges brought in 2019 by a Chevy dealer who accused her and her husband of passing a bad check as a down payment, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. (The final disposition of the case is unclear.)

James Liddell6 September 2024 10:40
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Watch: Biden addresses Georgia school shooting

‘We have to hold parents accountable’: Biden addresses Georgia school shooting
Katie Hawkinson6 September 2024 11:00
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Shooting suspect Colt Gray ‘shot his first' deer year before Georgia school attack

Colt Gray “shot his first deer” the year prior to the Georgia school shooting, according to his father.

The shooting suspect allegedly opened fire upon students and staff at the high school using an AR-style rifle in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday.

Now, in newly-surfaced police audio recorded in May 2023, Colt Gray’s father, Colin, admitted that he killed his first deer that very year. The interview took place after the FBI received a tip regarding a threat to shoot up a school last year.

“We do a lot of shooting,” Colin Gray told an investigator for the JacksonCount Sheriff’s Office.

“We do a lot of deer hunting. He shot his first deer this year.”

James Liddell6 September 2024 11:25
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Listen: Colin Gray was ‘p****d off’ at son for allegedly threaten to ‘shoot up’ school in 2023

Newly released audio reveals that the father of the suspected Georgia school shooter was “p****d off” to learn that his son was accused of threatening to shoot a school a year prior to the Apalachee High School atrocity on Wednesday.

Last year, Georgia authorities visited Colin Gray and his 14-year-old son Colt following the FBI receiving a report of online threats about “possibly threatening to shoot up a middle school” in a group chat on messaging app Discord surfaced.

The newly surfaced audio details the moment a Jackson County Sheriff's officer spoke to the father on May 21, 2023.

“I mean, I’m not trying to get anybody hemmed up,” the investigator told the father “But this is some serious stuff.”

“Oh, he knows how serious it is – trust me,” Gray retorted.

He continued: “I’m pretty shocked to be honest with you. I’m a little p****d off to be even really honest with you if that is what was said.”

Police question Colt Gray and his father about threats against school in 2023
James Liddell6 September 2024 11:50
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School shooting suspect set to arrive at Georgia courthouse imminently

Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray is getting ready to face a judge for his arraignment at 8.30 ET this morning.

The 14-year-old is due to arrive at Barrow County Courthouse following accusations of his involvement in the mass shooting at the Winder, Georgia high school on Wednesday. Four people - two 14-year-old students and two math teachers - were shot dead.

He faces four counts of felony murder, with additional charges expected, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. He is due to be tried as an adult.

Gray’s court appearance comes after the arrest of his father, Colin Gray, on Thursday night which saw charged with second-degree murder in connection with the deadly shooting.

James Liddell6 September 2024 12:12
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Colt Gray allegedly made admission to investigators: ‘I did it’

The suspected gunman who alleged shot four people dead during a mass shooting at Apalachee High School on Wednesday was said to have told investigators “I did it,” according to the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office.

Colt Gray was read his Miranda rights following his arrest at the Winder, Georgia, high school and was allegedly “still talking,” Sheriff Jud Smith told CNN.

The 14-year-old is set to face a judge at Barrow County Courthouse for his arraignment at 8.30 ET this morning, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. He will to be tried as an adult, the bureau said.

He faces four counts of felony murder, with additional charges expected, the GBI said.

James Liddell6 September 2024 12:35
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Additional six students and one teacher sustained gunshot wounds – following death of four

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has revealed that six students and one teacher were shot, seperate to the four people killed during the mass shooting at Apalachee High School on Wednesday.

An additional two students had sustained injuries that weren’t gunshot wounds, following shooting suspect Colt Gray allegedly opening fire upon students and staff at the high school using an AR-style rifle in Winder, Georgia, the GBI revealed on its website late on Thursday evening.

James Liddell6 September 2024 13:01
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Colt Gray told police he would never shoot up a school when they visited his house after FBI reported threats

The teenage suspect in the Georgia mass shooting told police he would never shoot up a school when he was questioned over online threats about a potential school shooting one year before the attack, it has been revealed.

Colt Gray, 14, who previously appeared on the FBI’s radar, is accused of opening fire with an AR-style rifle, at Apalachee High School in the city of Winder on Wednesday which left four people – two students and two teachers – dead. He surrendered to authorities on the scene and will be charged with murder and tried as an adult.

Now it has emerged that the FBI and the police had interviewed Gray and his father Colin Gray in May 2023 over “online threats to commit a school shooting,” from the social media platform Discord, which contained photographs of guns, the FBI’s Atlanta office said in a statement.

Read on:

Colt Gray told cops he would never shoot up a school during threat investigation

Colt Gray, the teen suspect in the Apalachee High School shooting in Winder, and his father were interviewed by police in 2023 over online threats to commit a school shooting, the FBI said

James Liddell6 September 2024 13:20
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Just in: Dad of Colt Gray to face judge an hour after son this morning

Colin Gray, the father of Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray is getting ready to face a judge for his arraignment at 9.30am ET this morning - precisely one hour after his son.

The dad faces four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

He will face a Barrow County Courthouse judge precisely an hour after his son, according to Barrow County District Court Administrator TJ BeMent.

Colt Gray faces four counts of felony murder, with additional charges expected, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. He is due to be arraigned at 8.30am this morning in the same courthouse.

James Liddell6 September 2024 13:21

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