Father of Alleged Georgia School Shooter Arrested and Charged with Murder and Manslaughter

The father of the alleged teenage gunman who killed four people in a mass shooting at Apalachee High School in northern Georgia has been arrested, law enforcement officials announced on the night of September 5.

Colin Gray, 54, faces multiple charges including four counts of manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. This announcement comes a day after his 14-year-old son, Colt Gray, was charged with murder.

The charges follow revelations that Colin Gray had purchased the AR-15-style rifle allegedly used by Colt in the shooting as a Christmas gift last December, sources told The Post.

“These charges are a result of Mr. Gray knowingly permitting his son, Colt, to possess a firearm,” GBI Director Chris Hosey said at a press conference, though he did not provide further details.

Colt Gray received the AR-15-style rifle from his father just seven months after authorities had visited them in response to tips from the FBI about online threats related to school shootings, according to the federal agency.

The concerning online posts reviewed by law enforcement included photos of firearms.

At that time, Colin Gray told police that while he had hunting guns at home, Colt did not have unsupervised access to them, according to authorities. Colt also denied making the threats.

On Wednesday morning, September 4, Colt Gray allegedly used the rifle to shoot and kill two fellow students and two teachers at Apalachee High School.

The victims of the shooting were students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, along with math teachers Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53. Aspinwall was also an assistant football coach.

Nine others—seven students and two teachers—were hospitalized with gunshot wounds. Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith reported on Thursday night that all those injured are expected to make a full recovery, with some already discharged from the hospital.

Colt Gray, who surrendered to school resource officers immediately after the shooting, was initially charged with murder on Wednesday. As of Thursday, he now faces four counts of felony murder, as announced by GBI Director Chris Hosey.

“We will continue to work tirelessly to complete this investigation as we move forward,” Hosey said, noting that there is still a long way to go before the investigation is complete.

The troubled teenager came from a broken home, where he and his sister were reportedly subjected to regular abuse by their troubled mother and had frequent interactions with police and child services, according to a former neighbor and landlord.

Colt’s mother, Marcee Gray, 43, has a lengthy criminal record spanning 17 years and four Georgia counties, including arrests for drug possession, driving under the influence, and domestic violence.

Lauren Vickers, a former neighbor in Jefferson, Georgia, described the children as often wearing dirty clothes and sometimes going hungry. “It was constant abuse,” she said.

Colt’s aunt, Annie Brown, told the Washington Post that her nephew had been struggling with mental health issues and had been “begging for help from everybody around him” before the school shooting.