On Sept. 4th, 2024, 14-year-old Colt Gray, a student at Apalachee High School, shot and killed two students and two teachers, as well as injuring nine others at his high school.
The victims were later identified as 14-year-old, Mason Schermerhorn, and Christian Angulo, also 14-years old, as well as, Christina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall, who both were teachers at Apalachee. Here is the timeline leading up to, during, and after the shooting, according to CNN:
May 2023: According to the FBI, several anonymous tips about online threats to “commit a shooting at an unidentified location and time,” were sent to the FBI, alongside the threats were pictures of guns. In response, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office interviewed Colt Gray, who was 13 years old at the time, and his father, Colin Gray. However, Colt Gray denied making any online threats. Colin stated that while he had guns in the house, his son didn’t have access to them. Although Jackson County officials warned local schools, “there was no probable cause for arrest or to take any additional law enforcement action on the local, state, or federal levels,” the authorities declared.
December 2023: Two law enforcement sources with direct knowledge of the investigation revealed that the suspect’s father, Colin Gray, bought the gun that was allegedly used in the shooting, an AR-15-style rifle, as a Christmas present for his son.
Sept. 4, 9:45 – 10:20 a.m.: According to his classmate, Lyela Sayarath, Colt Gray left his Algebra 1 class with his bag at the beginning of the class, around 9:45 a.m. Gray sends his mother, Marcee Gray, a cryptic and frightening text that reads, “I’m sorry, Mom.” This causes her to notify the school in a 10-minute phone call, about 30 minutes before the shooting took place. According to one of his classmates, a school administrator went to the class Colt was supposed to be in. However, another student with an extremely similar name had also left the class, leading to confusion and the administrator taking the other student’s backpack. Shortly after that, Gray returned with a gun and attempted to get back into the class, almost succeeding until another student saw him with the gun, and refused to open the door. Unable to enter the room he intended to, he moved to the neighboring room and opened fire. Witnesses say they heard 10-15 rounds being fired. At roughly 10:20 a.m., the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office was alerted. According to Sheriff Jud Smith, two school resource officers quickly arrived at the scene. When confronted by one of the officers, Gray instantly surrendered and was taken into custody.
Sept. 4, during questioning: NY post states, while being questioned Gray coldly told investigators, “I did it.” He was then booked into the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice and is now being charged with 4 counts of felony murder.
Sept. 5: The day after the shooting, Colin Gray, the father of Colt Gray, was taken into custody in connection with the school shooting. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation states he was charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, 2 counts of second-degree murder, and 8 counts of cruelty to children.
Sept. 6: Both Colt and Colin Gray appeared in court, where Judge Currie Mingledorff declared that Colt was not eligible for the death penalty due to his age. However, the judge also stated that Colin could face 180 years in prison if convicted.
CNN reports the teen will face further charges, and a grand jury has been set up to meet on October 17th.
