Father of Georgia School Shooter Arrested, Charged With Second-Degree Murder

People gather at the flagpole outside the entrance to Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., on Sept. 5, 2024, a day after deadly shootings at the school. Sharon Johnson/AP Photo

The father of a 14-year-old boy accused of shooting dead four people and wounding nine others at a Georgia high school on Sept. 4 has been arrested and is facing multiple charges, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced.

Colin Gray, the 54-year-old father of the suspect, Colt Gray, has been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children, authorities said in a post on X on Sept. 5.

In a follow-up post, police said the suspect’s father “knowingly allowed his son, Colt, to have the weapon.”

“This is a very difficult time for students and parents and many are afraid,” police said. “You’ve likely seen reports of incidents of other students making threats today at schools around GA. In each of these incidents, police took charges and made arrests as we take each matter seriously.”

Colin Gray. Barrow County Sheriff’s Office

In Georgia, second-degree murder means that a person has caused the death of another person while committing second-degree cruelty to children, regardless of intent.

It is punishable by 10 to 30 years in prison. Malice murder and felony murder carry a minimum sentence of life.

Involuntary manslaughter means that someone unintentionally causes the death of another person.

It’s not clear if Colin Gray has legal representation.

The charges against the father come after his son was charged with four counts of felony murder in connection with the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder that killed two students and two teachers.

The four victims have been identified as Richard Aspinwall, 39, Christina Irimie, 53, Mason Schermerhorn, 14, and Christian Angulo, 14.

At least nine other people were wounded in the attack and transported to hospital for treatment but are expected to recover, police said.

Suspect ‘Made Threats’ Online

So far, no motive has been established for the shooting, and police have not said how the suspect obtained the gun.

According to police, the suspect entered the school in the morning and started opening fire before surrendering when he was confronted by the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office school resource officer.

Police have said they plan to prosecute the younger Gray, who is being held at a regional youth detention facility, as an adult.

In May 2023, the Jackson County Sheriff’s office interviewed Colt Gray and his father after the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received multiple anonymous tips about posts online threatening to commit a school shooting at an unidentified school and time, according to a Sept. 4 statement from the FBI.

Brandy Rickaba and her daughter Emilie pray during a candlelight vigil for the slain students and teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., on Sept. 4, 2024. Mike Stewart/AP Photo

The online threats contained photographs of guns, and the threats were posted on a gaming site, the FBI said.

FBI officials determined the post originated in Georgia, and the Jackson County Sheriff’s office located the minor who they believed may have made the threats.

During the interview with the minor and his father, the boy—who was 13 at the time—denied making the threats online, the FBI said. The boy’s father also said there were hunting guns in the family home but stated that his son “did not have unsupervised access to them.”

At that time, police found no probable cause for arrest or to take any additional law enforcement action on the local, state, or federal levels, the FBI said.

The charges against Colin Gray come after Michigan parents Jennifer and James Crumbley became the first parents in the United States to be held criminally liable for a school shooting committed by their child after they were convicted in April of involuntary manslaughter.

Their son killed four of his classmates at Oxford High School in 2021.

The parents were sentenced to 10–15 years for failing to take adequate measures to secure a firearm at their home and ignoring signs of their son’s deteriorating mental health.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.