Authorities in Georgia (southern US) arrested on Thursday Colin Gray, 54, father of the teenager who killed four people on Wednesday in a shooting at his school in the town of Winsor and charged him with four counts of involuntary manslaughter.
According to Georgia Bureau of Investigation (OIG) Director Chris Hosey, at a press conference, Colin Gray, 54, was arrested in connection with the shooting committed this Wednesday by his son Colt Gray, 14, at Apalachee High School.
In addition to the manslaughter charges for each death, the suspect’s father is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of child cruelty, all stemming from his “willfully allowing his son Colt to pick up a gun,” Hosey said.
Authorities also made arrests in connection with “incidents involving other students who have made threats today at several schools” in the state of Georgia, the OIG director added, without giving further details because it is an open investigation.
During the interrogation, the young man denied being responsible for the threats and his father said that he had weapons at home but that they were kept safe for his son.
Colt Gray, who was arrested at the scene, faces four counts of murder for which he will be tried as an adult. He is expected to be formally read the charges before a judge tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. local time (12:30 GMT).
In searches of Gray’s home, authorities found documents they believe he wrote that reference previous school shootings, including the one in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead. The New York Times also found documents showing he faced bullying at school.
The deceased in the Apalachee Center shooting have been identified as two students, Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn, 14, and two math teachers, Christina Irimie, 53, and Richard Aspinwall, 39.
Of the nine people injured in the shooting, two have been released from hospital and seven others remain hospitalized, but their lives are not in danger, Hosey said.
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said at the conference that the community is “heartbroken that a young person brought a gun into a school, committed an evil act, killed people and hurt many others, not only physically but mentally.”
Gray’s father’s accusation follows the precedent of the 2021 Michigan school shooting by a juvenile, Ethan Crumbley, who killed four students, and in which the perpetrator’s parents were charged and convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the first time.
The incident has reopened the debate in the United States about the possible charges of negligence that parents or guardians of young people suspected of crimes may face by allowing or failing to ensure that they do not have access to weapons.
The Violence Policy Center, a research center on gun violence, also called for “demands” to be given regarding the details of the weapon used and how it was acquired.
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