Bodycam Video Shows Alleged School Shooter Being Questioned by Officers in 2023

The 14-year-old who authorities say carried out a mass shooting at a Georgia high school this month was questioned by law enforcement officers in 2023 and denied making any school shooting threats, newly released body camera footage shows.

Deputies with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office went to the home of Colt Gray and informed his father, Colin Gray, that they had pinpointed the location of a Discord user who had threatened to shoot up a school to the Grays’ former address. Video game users often use Discord to communicate with other gamers.

Gray said that his son, who was 13 at the time, played video games “like all the time” and that Colt had access to guns in the house, although the guns were not loaded.

“We do a lot of shooting. We do a lot of deer hunting,” Gray told deputies. “He shot his first deer this year.”

Gray said the background picture on his phone showed Colt with blood on his face and was taken after the deer kill.

“I’m trying to, to be honest with you, I’m trying to teach him about firearms and safety and how to do it all and get him interested in the outdoors,” Gray said.

Gray described himself as angry and in shock at hearing his son may have threatened to carry out a school shooting and said the family had discussed school shootings in the past.

“This is no joke,” he said.

Colt was being picked on at school, according to his father.

Gray went into the house to get his son and brought him back outside. Colt denied making any threats and said he previously used Discord but no longer did.

A deputy said he had “no choice but to take you at your word,” but added that “if I find out otherwise, it’s a different story.”

Felony Murder Charges

Colt shot more than a dozen people at Apalachee High School on Sept. 4, according to charging documents. Four of those people, including two students, died.

Colt has been charged with four counts of felony murder, with additional charges expected.

Gray has also been charged for allegedly knowingly giving his son the weapon that was used in the shooting. It’s the first time that the parent of a school shooting suspect has been charged in connection with the shooting in Georgia.

In initial court appearances, the father and son were ordered to remain in custody as the cases advance. No pleas have been entered.

Colt entered the high school in the morning and opened fire, according to authorities. Teachers utilized a new system that features them wearing badges with panic buttons, which alerted law enforcement of an incident, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.

School resource officers confronted Colt and he surrendered to them at 10:26 a.m., according to the bureau and Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith.

The FBI said after the shooting that it received anonymous tips about threats to shoot up a school and that it ascertained the threats originated in Georgia. Deputies there identified Colt as a suspect, Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum has said.

Mangum said earlier this month that deputies interviewed the boy and his father but that they could not substantiate the threats. No charges were filed.

Deputies did alert local schools for “continued monitoring of the subject,” Mangum said.

The sheriff said in an update on Sept. 6 that Jefferson City Schools informed her it has no record of being notified of a threat by Colt.

The only documentation that suggests the school system was made aware of the situation was an email from an investigator who was working the case, Mangum said.