GBI: Suspected school shooter had gun in backpack

ATLANTA, Georgia (Atlanta News First) – The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the suspected gunman in last week’s fatal shooting at Apalachee High School brought an AR-style rifle to school in a backpack.

On Thursday, the GBI said, 14-year-old Colt Gray, who is charged with four counts of murder, asked a teacher if he could go to the office and talk to someone. The teacher, the GBI said, allowed Gray to leave and take his things. Gray, police said, then went to a bathroom and hid from teachers.

Later, according to the GBI, Gray took out the rifle and began shooting.

The GBI said the assault rifle believed to have been used in the shooting could not be disassembled, but Gray still managed to hide it in his backpack, the agency said.

Gray is the suspect in the shooting that left two students and two teachers dead and nine others hospitalized Wednesday. Police have said Gray will be tried as an adult. He was booked into the Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center and faces four counts of first-degree murder.

The father, Colin Gray, 54, was charged last Friday with four counts of manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of child abuse. Police say he knowingly gave his son, Colt Gray, access to an AR-15 rifle that was allegedly used in the shooting.

A court date of Dec. 4, 2024, has been set for Colt Gray and Colin Gray. Piedmont Judicial Circuit District Attorney Brad Smith said a grand jury has been convened and will deliberate on formal charges against them on Oct. 17, 2024.

Meanwhile, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said the Apalachee shooting had impacted the state in a similar way to the Sept. 11 attacks.

“Just as our nation was shaken to its core 23 years ago, our state was shaken just a week ago today when we lost four Georgians and witnessed even more people hurt by evil and senseless actions just like in the days following the 9/11 attacks,” Kemp said during a ceremony marking the anniversary of 9/11.

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