Mother of Georgia school massacre suspect charged with abusing her mother

FITZGERALD, Ga. (AP) — The mother of a Georgia teenager accused of shooting four people at his high school has been charged in connection with an alleged domestic incident last year.

The indictment filed Monday accuses Marcee Gray, 43, of exploitation of an elderly person and other crimes in Ben Hill County, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The charges appear to be unrelated to the Apalachee High School shooting, which occurred in another Georgia county nearly 200 miles away.

Gray is the mother of 14-year-old Colt Gray, who was charged with murder after turning himself in to police at the high school on Sept. 4. Authorities said the boy brought an assault rifle to school in his backpack and opened fire during morning classes, killing two students and two teachers and wounding nine others.

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The charges against Marcee Gray stem from a domestic incident late last year, the Atlanta newspaper reported. A police report said Gray’s 74-year-old mother told authorities on Nov. 4 that Gray took her phone, tied her to a chair and left her alone for nearly an entire day.

The incident report said Gray tied up her mother before traveling to Barrow County to confront her ex-husband, who lived with her son and two other children. The Atlanta newspaper said records show Gray was arrested in Barrow County on Nov. 6, two days after her mother was found. She was sentenced to 45 days in jail after pleading guilty to trespassing, using a license plate to disguise her car and criminal damage.

Messages left Saturday at possible phone numbers for Gray were not immediately returned. It was not immediately known whether she had an attorney.

Gray said she called her son’s high school the morning of the shooting to warn staff after Colt Gray texted her “I’m sorry.” She issued a statement a few days later saying her son was “not a monster.”

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The teen’s father, Colin Gray, has also been charged with manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of child abuse. Authorities say he gave his son access to the rifle used in the shooting.