Georgia school shooter’s father bragged about the “greatest day” of his life, hinted it was
Colt Gray’s father said in a newly released audio tape that the person suspected of being involved in the school shooting in Georgia had “access to” high-caliber rifles a year before the alleged event at Apalachee High School. His father even brags on the recording—which the FBI was able to obtain—about how his son’s first deer slaughter was the “greatest day” of his life. Police questioning Colin Gray were looking into the boy’s purported threats to shoot up a school in 2023.
On September 6, 2024, in Winder, Georgia, Colin Gray, 54, the father of 14-year-old suspect Colt Gray in the Apalachee High School shooting, makes his first appearance at the Barrow County courtroom. (AFP via Getty Images)
Unsettling image of Colts Gray’s history
The FBI reports that when officials went to Colin Gray’s Jefferson, Missouri, home last year in relation to his 14-year-old son, “the father stated he had hunting guns in the house, but the subject did not have unsupervised access to them.” The person denied posing the threats on the internet.
The youngster was questioned by the FBI’s Atlanta Division in May 2023 over possible preparations to carry out a school shooting. According to The New York Times, Colin disclosed during the inquiry that he had been educating his kid about firearms and hunting in order to promote outdoor activities and cut down on computer game time. Using a picture of his kid “shooting his first deer,” Colin characterized the moment as “the greatest day ever.”
According to the article, Colt Gray’s Discord page provided the FBI with a tip about concerning remarks he had received online. Gray created an account with a Russian username that spells out “Lanza,” referring to Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter Adam Lanza, according to the inquiry.
At the age of 13, Colt Gray received a gun. Documents show that Colin Gray had a number of weapons, including an AR-15-style rifle. Gray, who is now 54 years old, faces charges of murder and manslaughter after his child Colt reportedly stole a pistol from his father for Christmas and opened fire on his Georgia high school, killing four people. Colin Gray acknowledged that Colt had access to the firearms at their Jefferson home during a May 2023 police interview, but he insisted that the guns were unloaded.
The audio tape that Fox was able to get said, “They are… I mean there’s nothing loaded, but they are… we do a lot of shooting, we do a lot of deer hunting.”
Colin Gray agreed with the officer’s emphasis on the need of taking quick action to avoid any injury and even voiced his unhappiness with the current state of affairs. In response to the officer’s question about his son’s purported threat, he stated, “I’m going to be mad as hell if he did,” pledging to take away all “gun access.”
Bullying allegedly forced Colt to transfer schools, and he is now charged with shooting at Apalachee High School, which is around fifteen minutes from his former school. After being placed under arrest on Thursday, Colt and his father jointly appeared in court on Friday morning.
