Father of suspect arrested after US school shooting

(UPDATE) WASHINGTON — The father of a 14-year-old who shot and killed four people at a US high school has been charged with manslaughter, authorities said Thursday following the latest outbreak of gun violence in the country.

The teenager is accused of four counts of murder after allegedly killing two 14-year-old classmates and two teachers at Apalachee High School in the southern state of Georgia on Wednesday.

Nine people, most of them children, were injured in the attack. Authorities said they are recovering.

People pray during a vigil for the Apalachee High School shooting at Jug Tavern Park in Winder, Georgia, on September 4, 2024. – A 14-year-old gunman killed at least four people, including two students, and wounded nine others when he opened fire at a high school in the U.S. state of Georgia on September 4, law enforcement authorities said. The gunman – also a student at the school – was taken into custody. He will be charged with murder and tried as an adult, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. Two teachers were also among the dead. (Photo by CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA / AFP)

The suspect’s father, 54-year-old Colin Gray, was in custody and faces four counts of manslaughter, two counts of premeditated murder and eight counts of child abuse, making him the youngest American father to be charged after his child was involved in a mass shooting.

The charges were filed after Gray “knowingly” allowed his son to possess a gun, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said at a news conference.

Citing anonymous sources, CNN reported that the weapon used in the shooting – an AR-15-style assault rifle – was purchased by the teenager’s father as a Christmas present.

The GBI said the suspect would be charged as an adult. He is scheduled to appear in court on Friday and further charges are expected.

“The investigation into the shooting at Apalachee HS is still active and ongoing,” the agency said in a post on X.

“This is the second day of a very complex investigation and the integrity of the case is of the utmost priority,” it said. An autopsy will be performed on all four victims on Thursday.

In the United States, where there are more guns than people and no strict regulations even for the purchase of high-powered military rifles, school shootings occur with alarming frequency.

Parental responsibility in mass shootings, especially when committed by minors, has increasingly come into focus in recent months.

“How can you have an assault rifle, a gun, in a house that is not locked away, and at the same time know that your child knows where it is?” President Joe Biden lamented to reporters in Wisconsin on Thursday.

“Parents must be held accountable when they allow their children access to these weapons.”

“Fact of life”

In April, the parents of a teenager who killed four people in a school shooting in Michigan were sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison in an unprecedented and highly publicized case.

Jennifer and James Crumbley were the first parents of a school shooter to be convicted of manslaughter in the United States for the actions of their child.

Polls show that a majority of voters support tighter controls on the use and purchase of firearms. But the National Rifle Association (NRA), a powerful lobbying group for gun owners, opposes additional restrictions, and lawmakers have repeatedly failed to take action.

“I don’t like that this is a fact,” Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance said Thursday in a speech to a crowd in Phoenix, Arizona, about the school shootings.

He called for more security in US schools.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris quickly hit back in a post on X, saying school shootings are “not just a fact of life.”

“It doesn’t have to be this way. We can take action to protect our children – and we will,” she wrote.