Colt Gray Assured Police He Wouldn’t Shoot Up a School After Threats

A teenager suspected in a tragic mass shooting at a Georgia high school previously assured police he would never commit such an act. Colt Gray, aged 14, has been implicated in the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, which resulted in the deaths of four individuals, including two students and two teachers. Gray reportedly surrendered to law enforcement at the scene and is expected to face charges of murder, with proceedings taking place in adult court.

New information has emerged indicating that both the FBI and local police interviewed Gray and his father, Colin Gray, in May 2023. This was in response to online threats suggesting a potential school shooting, which originated from the messaging platform Discord. The threats contained images of firearms, prompting several anonymous tips that led the FBI’s Atlanta office to pass the matter to the Jackson County Sheriffs’ Office.

Investigators subsequently identified the online threats as coming from a 13-year-old Gray, leading to an interview with him and his father, who mentioned having guns in their household. During a visit by deputies to their home in Jefferson, Georgia, Colt claimed he deleted his Discord account before relocating with his father.

According to reports, Colt expressed confusion over the accusations, insisting he would never even jokingly threaten to shoot a school. However, detectives later discovered that a new Discord account was created after Colt stated he had deleted the original. This account featured a username written in Russian, translating to “Lanza,” a reference to Adam Lanza, the perpetrator of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut.

When questioned about these findings, Colt’s father maintained that the associated email address did not belong to either of them and asserted that his son did not know how to speak Russian. Further investigations revealed that the IP addresses linked to the account were traced back to various locations across Georgia, as well as New York and Virginia.

Colin Gray acknowledged having hunting firearms in the home but insisted that his son did not have unsupervised access to them. Despite Colt’s denials of making online threats, local schools were alerted to monitor the situation further.

During the interview, Colt mentioned he had stopped using Discord, citing concerns about being hacked and fears that someone might misuse his information. Authorities advised Colin Gray to keep his son out of school until the issue could be resolved.

After the interviews, law enforcement officials concluded there was insufficient probable cause to arrest Colt or pursue any additional action. However, Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, confirmed that authorities are looking into possible links between the threats made in 2023 and the recent shooting.

Hosey remarked during a press conference that the incidents are not recent, but it is essential to investigate any connections between the earlier threats and the shooting that occurred on Wednesday.

As the investigation unfolds, reports also indicate that Colt Gray’s family had prior interactions with local child services, which authorities are now examining as a potential line of inquiry.

Classmates have described Colt as a quiet student who often skipped classes. One student, Lyela Sayarath, shared her thoughts with CNN, expressing that she was not surprised to learn that Gray was the alleged shooter, given his demeanor. She recalled sitting next to him in algebra class shortly before the incident and noticed he left the room without taking the bathroom pass, leading her to believe he was skipping class.

Sayarath described Colt as someone who was frequently absent from class, characterizing his interactions as limited to one-word responses or very brief statements.

In the wake of the incident, tributes are flooding in for the victims, identified as 14-year-olds Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, alongside teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53.