Shocking new details revealed in hearing for Apalachee HS shooting suspect's father
BARROW COUNTY, Ga. - Colin Gray, the father of the teenager accused of killing four people at Apalachee High School, appeared in a Barrow County courtroom on Wednesday morning for a preliminary hearing. Gray faces multiple charges, including allegations that he purchased the AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting as a Christmas gift for his son, Colt Gray.
During the hearing, agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) provided detailed testimony about events leading up to and during the shooting, along with insights from interviews conducted with Colt Gray, Colin Gray, and Colt's mother, Marcee Gray.
GBI agent describes shooting
The first agent on the stand provided a detailed timeline of Colt Gray's actions on the day of the shooting. He described how Colt Gray arrived at school and what he was carrying at the time – a backpack with a "rolled-up posterboard" inserted in the backpack. The agent said that Colt went to his first period class. Although he did take a bathroom break during the period, he did not appear to do anything abnormal.
During second period, Colt pulled out a black notebook or binder and placed it on his desk. He also used his phone briefly. At 9:45 a.m., he left the classroom to supposedly see the school counselor. When he left, he took his backpack with him, but left behind the black notebook. The notebook was later recovered by crime scene techs.
After leaving the classroom, he went to a student restroom in J Hall and entered one of the stalls. Items associated with Gray were later found in one of the stalls. A short time later, he left the restroom wearing yellow gloves and carrying the backpack with the posterboard "wrapped" around his torso. He went back to his second period class and knocked on the door. However, the student who stood up to open the door apparently saw something alarming and refused to open the door. The student then alerted the teacher, who initiated a lockdown procedure.
Gray then entered a nearby classroom and began firing. Multiple people were struck inside that classroom, including Christian Angulo who was killed.
After only 7 seconds of firing, Colt began running towards a set of bathrooms. Next, he was seen shouldering the rifle and shooting one of the teachers who was killed. Next, he turned towards I Hall and saw two coaches for the school and fired multiple times, killing one of the coaches and injuring the other.
Colt Gray then turned his attention back to J Hall and surveillance video shows him looking to access other classrooms. That is when he encountered the second student who was killed and Gray shouldered his gun once again.
A few seconds later, two school resource officers entered the hallway and ordered Gray to drop his gun. Gray immediately did so and he was taken into custody.
Investigators also testified that Colt had written an apology letter before the shooting and sent remorseful text messages to his parents shortly before the incident.
Notebook and shrine found in Colt's home
Additionally, the agents spoke about a notebook belonging to Colt Gray containing drawings that eerily matched the events of the school shooting, as well as a checklist outlining steps Colt planned to take. The checklist reportedly included instructions such as putting on gloves, chambering a round in his gun, checking his vest, putting on a hat, and avoiding shooting anyone in the bathroom to prevent alerting others.
A GBI agent also revealed that investigators discovered what they described as a "shrine of sorts" behind Colt’s computer desk in his home. The shrine consisted of approximately 15 photographs and newspaper articles about past school shootings and school shooters, suggesting a fascination with similar incidents.
During their investigation, the GBI learned from Colt's father, Colin Gray, that he had received unsettling text messages from both his daughter and ex-wife on the day of the shooting. After reading the texts, Colin said he went home and turned on the news, where he saw reports of the shooting at Colt’s school. He told investigators that he then went to Colt’s room to look for the AR-15-style rifle he had given him, only to find it missing.
Colt joked about school shootings
In her interview with the GBI, Marcee Gray expressed concern about Colt’s growing obsession with guns, which she said had worsened significantly in recent months. She also recounted conversations with Colt in which he referenced the Columbine High School and Sandy Hook Elementary shootings, sometimes making disturbing jokes about them. Marcee further stated that Colt had asked his father to buy him a shooter’s mask. When Colin asked why he needed the mask, Colt reportedly joked that it was to "finish his school shooter outfit."
Marcee Gray also disclosed that Colt had been experiencing increasingly frequent panic attacks in the month leading up to the shooting.
Colin Gray did not seem surprised or remorseful
An investigator with the Barrow County Sheriff's Office testified that Colin Gray told him that he had purchased the gun for Colt Gray as a Christmas gift the previous year. He also mentioned that Colt had asked him for a larger magazine and he purchased one for him. Additionally, Colin Gray obtained a bore sight for the rifle and purchased ammunition for the gun. Colin Gray also reportedly told the investigator that Colt Gray had become increasingly violent with him and his mother over the last few months before the shooting.
Investigators also testified that Colin Gray did not seem surprised when he was informed of the shooting and did not immediately express remorse after learning about the shooting.
After hearing the agents' testimony, the judge found probable cause to bring Colin Gray to trial.