Why has the father of the suspected Apalachee High School shooter been arrested?
The father of a 14-year-old boy, Colt Gray, accused of carrying out the fatal school shooting at Apalachee High in Georgia on Wednesday has been arrested.
Authorities in Georgia arrested the father of Colt Gray in connection with the fatal shooting at Apalachee High on Wednesday. The 14-year-old student is accused of killing two classmates and two teachers as well as wounding nine others with an AR-style rifle.
He will be tried as an adult on four counts of felony murder. Last year, law enforcement visited the teen to question him about “online threats to commit a school shooting” after receiving anonymous tips. No action was taken at that time as “there was no probable cause for arrest” as the “threats could not be substantiated.”
Why has the father of the suspected Apalachee High School shooter been arrested?
Colt’s father, Colin Gray, 54, was detained by Georgia law enforcement for “knowingly allowing his son Colt to possess a weapon,” said the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Chris Hosey, at a media conference. The elder Colt has been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said on Thursday.
When authorities questioned Colt in May 2023 about the online threats, Colin informed investigators that he had hunting rifles in the house. But, he assured that his son could only “use them when supervised but does not have unfettered access to them,” according to the report. He was advised to keep them locked up.
CNN reports that two law enforcement sources who have direct knowledge of the investigation related that Colin told investigators he had purchased the gun used in the school shooting. The AR-style firearm was a present for Colt this past Christmas, just months after investigators had questioned him and his son about the online school shooting threats.
Colin Gray’s arrest in connection with the shooting rampage his son is accused of carrying out is the latest example of parent’s being held responsible for their child’s involvement in a school shooting. James and Jennifer Crumbley were both found guilty of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year for the killing of four students at Oxford High School in 2021 perpetrated by their son Ethan.
They were the first US parents to be charged in a mass shooting carried out by their child. The prosecution argued that they had ignored clear signs of Ethan’s mental health issues and failed to secure the gun that he used. They were each sentenced to at least 10 years in prison.