Father of alleged Georgia school shooter arrested

Mourners hug outside Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, after school shooting

About 75% of school shooters obtained their weapons at home, according to federal data

(Image credit: Jessica McGowan / Getty Images)

published 6 September 2024

What happened

Colin Gray, the father of the 14-year-old charged with murdering two fellow students and two teachers at a Georgia high school Wednesday, was arrested yesterday. The charges against Gray — multiple counts of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree murder and cruelty to children — stem from him "knowingly allowing his son Colt to possess a weapon," Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said.

The shooter at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, used a "black, semi-automatic AR-15 style rifle," according to Colt Gray's arrest warrant. Colin Gray, 54, told investigators this week he purchased the rifle for his son last December as a Christmas president, two law enforcement sources told CNN. That was about six months after a local sheriff's office, acting off an FBI tip, questioned the father and son about threats to shoot up a middle school; Colt Gray denied making the threatening Discord post and said his account was hacked, according to records released yesterday.

Charging the parents is a "new strategy in America's halting attempt to control the epidemic of school shootings," Reuters said. In a landmark case, the mother and father of a Michigan school shooter were convicted of manslaughter in April. About 75% of school shooters obtained their weapons at home, according to federal data.

"Let's require safe storage of firearms," President Joe Biden said. "You've got to hold parents accountable if they let their child have access to these guns." Republican vice-presidential nominee J.D. Vance said he didn't "like that this is a fact of life," but school shootings are "increasingly the reality that we live in" and "we have got to bolster security in our schools."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.