(StraightShooterNews.com) – The investigation into the tragic shooting at Apalachee High School has reached a new stage, as 54-year-old Colin Gray was arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in relation to the incident.
He is the father of 14-year-old Colt Gray, who is suspected of murdering two students and two teachers with an assault-style rifle at the school.
Colin faces charges including four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children.
According to Georgia Bureau of Investigation director Chris Hosey, “His charges are directly connected with the actions of his son and allowing him to possess a weapon.”
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith expressed deep sorrow at the news conference: “What are we facing? Heartbreak. A young person brought a gun into a school, committed an evil act and took lives, and injured people not just physically but mentally.”
The teenager has been formally charged as an adult with the murders of fellow 14-year-old students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, 39-year-old Richard Aspinwall and 53-year-old Christina Irimie, both teachers.
Nine others were injured in the incident but are expected to recover fully.
Over a year before this incident, Georgia police had interviewed the young Colt about threats of a school shooting he allegedly made online but lacked enough evidence for an arrest.
At that time, Colin claimed his hunting weapons were secured and his son did not have free access to them.
Described as an “AR platform style weapon” or semiautomatic rifle, the weapon used in the shooting remains a point of investigation. Authorities are still exploring how Colt got his hands on it.
This case marks the first mass shooting on a U.S. school campus this academic year, and the probe into the motivations behind it is ongoing.
Colt is now held without bond in the Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center. His arraignment is scheduled via video before a Georgia superior court judge.
The case adds to a growing concern about parental responsibility in such incidents.
Following a recent precedent where parents were held accountable in similar tragedies, this arrest reflects a possibly changing tide in how these cases are approached legally.
🚨#BREAKING: Mugshots of Colin Gray, father of Colt Gray has just been taken and released to the public pic.twitter.com/t6JfYYggSW
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) September 6, 2024
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