THE dad of the child suspected in the Georgia school shooting has been arrested for his alleged role in the tragedy.
His father, Colin Grat, 54, has now been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children.
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His son, Colt Gray, 14, is accused of opening fire at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, Georgia, and was arrested on Wednesday morning for allegedly killing four people and injuring nine.
Georgia authorities announced the arrest at a press conference, telling reporters that Colin “knowingly” let his son possess a weapon.
“We take incidents like this very seriously across the state,” Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.
Hosey added that Colt has now officially been charged with four counts of felony murder.
What we know so far…
- Four people are dead, and nine others were injured, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations confirmed.
- Students Mason Schermerhorn, 14, Christian Angulo, 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie were identified as those killed.
- 14-year-old student Colt Gray was named as the suspected shooter.
- Gray and his dad were interviewed by the FBI a year before after authorities received online threats of a possible school shooting.
- Colt’s dad, Colin, 54, was arrested on Thursday by cops and is facing multiple charges including involuntary manslaughter, second-degree murder, and cruelty to children.
- A classmate said Gray was blocked from entering a classroom by a student who spotted his gun.
- Students gathered on the football field after the attack.
- President Biden and Vice President Harris were briefed.
- Devastating texts revealed student’s fear.
“This is a very serious investigation,” he added.
There were no further details on Colin’s arrest, and authorities were unable to say whether more arrests would be made at this time.
Hosey also told reporters that the nine victims who were hospitalized with injuries are “expected to make a full recovery.”
Seven out of nine of the victims have already been released from the hospital.
The GBI said they didn’t expect to announce additional updates on Thursday night, but that the investigation continued to remain “fluid.”
Four victims lost their lives during the shooting, including, two teachers, Cristina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall.
Two students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo were also killed in the shooting.
CHRISTMAS GIFT CONTROVERSY
Colin told investigators that he purchased the gun allegedly used in the shooting as a Christmas gift for his son last December, two law enforcement sources told CNN.
The source added the AR-15-style rifle was purchased at a local gun store last year.
The gift was purchased months after the FBI first investigated Colt for school shooting threats.
The FBI announced on Wednesday they had interviewed Colt and his father in May 2023 after receiving “several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time.”
“The online threats contained photographs of guns,” a joint statement from the FBI Atlanta and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office read.
“Within 24 hours, the FBI determined the online post originated in Georgia.”
Investigators explained that the threatening posts were made on a Discord group chat.
Family members told The New York Times that Colt had a “troubled life.”
“My grandson did what he did because of the environment that he lived in,” his grandfather, Charles Polhamus said.
Colt’s aunt, Annie Brown, added, “The adults in his life let him down.”
Brown explained that Colt was “actively seeking help” for his mental health, but didn’t find the support he needed from those around him.
FBI INTERACTION
When the FBI questioned Colin on the posts his son made on Discord, he said he didn’t know what the messaging app was.
“Colin stated he does not know what Discord is, stating that he works full time and does not play video games,” investigators wrote.
When authorities questioned Colin, he admitted he keeps guns in his home but his son was only allowed access under adult supervision.
They urged Colin to “keep his firearms locked up” and asked him to keep Colt away from school until his mental health improved.
At the time of the interview, the FBI determined there wasn’t enough evidence for an arrest.
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