The latest suspected Georgia school shooter allegedly brought a rifle in his backpack to campus and was nearly stopped by administrators before the shooting.
Two students and two teachers were shot and killed at Apalachee High School, and another nine were injured. Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith provided an update Thursday to WSB-TV on how the alleged shooter, 14-year-old student Colt Gray, allegedly carried out the crime.
Smith said that Gray allegedly brought a rifle to school in his backpack and concealed the weapon while in class so it was not openly visible. Moments before the shooting, he asked his teacher if he could go to the front office.
“He asked to go up front and speak to someone at the front, and when you do that, you take your belongings with you,” Smith said, per WSB-TV. “So the teacher allowed him to leave. Colt had gone to the bathroom, brought the firearm out, and began shooting at students and staff.”
Smith said that within two minutes, a resource officer stopped Gray, who surrendered. He said this speedy response saved lives.
Additional information released this week showed how the school nearly stopped the shooting before it happened.
WSB-TV reported that a teacher noticed suspicious behavior from Gray on the day of the shooting and emailed a school counselor. However, administrators identified a different student with a similar name, Colton Gray. The shooting began shortly after the mistake was made.
“They were in the same classroom, and they sat beside each other,” Smith said.
Marcee Gray, the mother of the suspected shooter, said her son sent suspicious messages to her, which she reported to the school shortly before the shooting. She said a school counselor reached out to her before the shooting with concerns about her son.
“The counselor said, ‘I want to let you know that earlier this morning, one of Colt’s teachers sent me an email that said Colt had been making references to school shootings,’” Gray told WSB-TV.
FBI Atlanta announced last week that it had previously investigated Gray following a tip that he had threatened to carry out a school shooting, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
“In May 2023, the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time,” the FBI statement reads. “The online threats contained photographs of guns. Within 24 hours, the FBI determined the online post originated in Georgia and the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office referred the information to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office for action.”
“The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office located a possible subject, a 13-year-old male, and interviewed him and his father,” the statement continued. “The father stated he had hunting guns in the house, but the subject did not have unsupervised access to them. The subject denied making the threats online. Jackson County alerted local schools for continued monitoring of the subject.”
“At that time, there was no probable cause for arrest or to take any additional law enforcement action on the local, state, or federal levels,” it concluded.
