BARROW COUNTY, Ga. — The metro Atlanta community is still in mourning for the four lives lost in a deadly shooting at Apalachee High School on Wednesday.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says 14-year-old Apalachee High School student Colt Gray opened fire with an AR platform-style gun inside the school just before 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning.
Colt Gray surrendered to school resource officers just minutes after the shooting began, according to the GBI.
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Four people were killed: math teachers 39-year-old Richard Aspinwall and 53-year-old Cristina Irimie and 14-year-old students Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn.
Nine others were shot and wounded, including curriculum specialist and coach David Phenix and students Melany Garcia and Taylor Jones. Some of those injured are still hospitalized while others have been released. Of those injured, Phenix was the only teacher; the other eight were students. All are expected to make a full recovery.
Colt Gray is currently being held in the Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center on four counts of felony murder. Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith says the teenager will face more charges once survivors are able to be interviewed.
On Thursday night, Colt Gray’s father, Colin Gray, was arrested and charged with two counts of second degree murder, four counts of involuntary manslaughter and eight counts of cruelty to children. The GBI says Colin Gray knowingly “allowed” his son to possess a gun. He is currently being held in the Barrow County Detention Center.
Both Colt Gray and Colin Gray appeared before a Barrow County judge on Friday morning. Attorneys for neither of them requested bond, meaning both will remain in custody.
DA Smith says prosecutors plan to present their case against both of them before a grand jury on October 17.
Because Colt Gray is under 18, the death penalty is not on the table in his case. Instead, he faces the possibility of life in prison. Colin Gray’s charges carry a possible sentence of up to 180 years in prison.
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Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Justin Gray obtained a copy of an investigative report detailing an interview Jackson County sheriff’s deputies had with then-13-year-old Colt Gray and Colin Gray surrounding school threats allegedly made by the younger suspect in May 2023 on the social media platform Discord.
The GBI said that a few months after that investigation, Colin Gray gave his son the weapon used in the deadly attack as a Christmas gift.
In speaking with Channel 2 Action News, Colt Gray’s grandfather, Charlie Polhamus, said his grandson’s “environment” drove him to commit the school shooting.
“I’m not discounting what my grandson did. It was awful. And he needs to pay a price for it,” Polhamus said. “He deserves what he gets. The one I’m telling you is he wasn’t born to do that. He’s a victim of his environment. That’s as plain as I can put it.”
He says Colt Gray’s household was unstable and both of his parents battled substance abuse issues.
If you’d like to donate to the victims and their families, click here.
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