GA - Winder - Apalachee High School school shooting, 4 dead, 9 injured *father and son arrested*

[Betty P]

Well they likely will now. Hindsight is 20/20 right? Sounds like the shooter came from an unstable environment from what we have seen posted by the mother's sister. The parents were probably too wrapped up in their own lives to give this kid the attention he needed. How terrible must the kid's life be that becoming a school shooter is what he feels is his only option.

The biggest tragedy is that the state of Georgia prevented the FBI from removing the guns from this family and allowed them to continue purchasing more deadly weapons.

There was no other way to prevent this tragedy, JMO. Some parents are always going to be irresponsible and allow their kids to become a public threat.

 

[Betty P]

I wonder if dad knew he was going to shoot children so the two students are second degree murder but he was unaware of the two adults being targets (or the other way round) so that comes within manslaughter

Probably. He knew enough to strongly suspect the kid was a threat to anyone at school. When the shooting starts in a building full of people, it can be difficult to pick and choose your victims.

I hope the victims and families sue the state and local government for failing to prevent this family from buying the weapon used to kill and injure others.

 

[statt#1]

We could theoretically secure the actual buildings, however I’m afraid that would simply move the shootings to the outdoor spaces of schools, i.e. parking lots, front walkways, exit pathways, playgrounds, etc.

I do think solutions will be like Swiss cheese with no one or two or even ten solutions preventing most shootings. I don’t believe it’s possible to prevent all shootings. And it does seem like there has been somewhat of a decrease in total number of fatalities per incident, but that’s just my perception, and I could be completely wrong.

I bolded part of your comment. The reason is, shootings among youth are already outside the schools in the U.S., in the streets of every city of the U.S., around schools, college campuses, everywhere you mentioned, plus, well, anywhere, anytime. If you want to keep kids safe while they are in school, first thing to do is prevent weapons from entering the school.

 

[statt#1]

Sadly, threats are so common these days. Far more than people realize, unless you work in a school environment. Same thing happens every time. A threat comes into the school, the district, etc., usually by social media. Sometimes it is specific schools, sometimes it’s general. The authorities do a deep dive to find the location it came from, go to the home, interview person (usually teenager) and the parents, and find out if guns are accessible. The kid will say it was a joke and the parents will say the guns (if any) are secure. The student continues going to school since there isn’t anything that can be done. Oftentimes the threat is from a completely different state or one that was changed as it spread across media and appeared more specific to a certain school. That happens a lot. Example…kid is California posts that he/she is going to shoot up their school and anonymously posts on social media. Someone in Virgina sees it, screenshots it, and posts it. Someone else then screenshots it, posts it, and adds text warning friends not to go to school. Then those friends think it was originally posted about their school in Virgina, when it really started in California. School’s hands are tied.

Was the this week’s threat really CALLED in? In my 33 years of education, we’ve never had the actual threat called in. It’s always been through and anonymous tip line or social media. Those are handled immediately and often found to not be serious. I’m going to guess the threat was a hoax that ended up completely coincidental, or the shooter and some friends decided to make the threat but the friends had no idea the shooter was really going to do it. Although there are students that we know have made threats in the past, rarely has a shooter warned the school ahead of time except for last minute social media posts. The first question doesn’t need to be how did the shooter get a gun, or what was the shooter’s mental state, but HOW DID THE SHOOTER GET IT INTO SCHOOL AND HOW CAN WE STOP IT.

The very last line in this post, all CAPS, is true, and it appears, comes from someone else who has worked in public school. We must prevent the weapons from entering the schools.

It has been apparent to me for years. The control of the situation must be done at the main entry doorway(s) to the school, along with protocols in place to secure all other entryways, preventing unwarranted entry. So the question, for me, in my opinion, becomes....why haven't public schools done this?

 

[Elley Mae]

The biggest tragedy is that the state of Georgia prevented the FBI from removing the guns from this family and allowed them to continue purchasing more deadly weapons.

There was no other way to prevent this tragedy, JMO. Some parents are always going to be irresponsible and allow their kids to become a public threat.

How did the state prevent the fbi from removing weapons when there was no probable cause?

….

Colin was with his son, Colt, during an interview last year with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office after the FBI connected threats made on Discord server to the then-13-year-old. No probable cause was found during that investigation, but the school was notified about the incident. The family would then move to neighboring Barrow County, enrolling Colt into Apalachee High School.

Apalachee High School shooting suspect's 1st court appearance set, father also arrested

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has arrested 54-year-old Colin Gray, the father of the 14-year-old suspected Apalachee High School shooter, Colt Gray.

www.fox5atlanta.com

 

[Betty P]

How did the state prevent the fbi from removing weapons when there was no probable cause?

….

Colin was with his son, Colt, during an interview last year with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office after the FBI connected threats made on Discord server to the then-13-year-old. No probable cause was found during that investigation, but the school was notified about the incident. The family would then move to neighboring Barrow County, enrolling Colt into Apalachee High School.

Apalachee High School shooting suspect's 1st court appearance set, father also arrested

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has arrested 54-year-old Colin Gray, the father of the 14-year-old suspected Apalachee High School shooter, Colt Gray.

www.fox5atlanta.com

There were prior incidents that should have justified removal of weapons and bans preventing new purchases. There are many ways to rewrite laws to make it easier to remove guns from violent and irresponsible people.

 

[Elley Mae]

There were prior incidents that should have justified removal of weapons and bans preventing new purchases. There are many ways to rewrite laws to make it easier to remove guns from violent and irresponsible people.

One prior incident that I’m aware of and no probable cause to remove the weapons at that time.
The ar15 style weapon was purchased after the incident.

Jmo

Rewrite the laws all day long, the law has to pass.

 

[Betty P]

One prior incident that I’m aware of and no probable cause to remove the weapons at that time.
The ar15 style weapon was purchased after the incident.

Jmo

Rewrite the laws all day long, the law has to pass.

The assault weapons ban needs to be restored.

If local and state governments can’t take action to protect the public, the public should be allowed the right to private action. IOW, they should sue their local and state government and its leaders for damages.

Georgia and similar states are a mess due to their support of the right of dangerous people to own arms. Personally, I don’t travel to those kind of states. They’re too dangerous.

 

[MassGuy]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1832022366568042793

 

[Inthedetails]

Some background of his upbringing in the article below.

I can't help but think how drugs turned an attractive and educated woman into what seems like a monster. That's not the only factor in this case I KNOW, but a mom's addiction to drugs is a factor into four people murdered, her son and ex-husband jailed, and a community devastated. Guns are an issue in this specific case but so is addiction.

Georgia school shooting suspect Colt Gray’s broken homelife: A mom with multiple drug arrests and a dad who gave him an AR-15 for Christmas

“There were nights where the mom would lock him and his sister out the house. And they would be banging on the back door, just screaming like ‘Mom! mom! mom!’ and crying. It was a…

nypost.com

 

[Betty P]

On CNN, a reporter is trying to parse the new charges against the father. Reporter says its not clear why there are manslaughter and second degree murder charges filed. He says it will probably become clear later today when the media receives the affidavit or indictment from the prosecutor.

ETA: edited for grammar

 

[MollyHarps]

Huge props to Georgia Police department for quickly arresting the father on huge charges.

I’m more mad&angry with the father in this case than the actual shooter - This was clearly a very troubled child..so what does the father do..buys him a gun as a present - that was just asking for trouble.

Talk about irresponsible parenting.

I hope he gets the longest sentence possible and is given a very hard time in jail.

 

[Betty P]

Some background of his upbringing in the article below.

I can't help but think how drugs turned an attractive and educated woman into what seems like a monster. That's not the only factor in this case I KNOW, but a mom's addiction to drugs is a factor into four people murdered, her son and ex-husband jailed, and a community devastated. Guns are an issue in this specific case but so is addiction.

Georgia school shooting suspect Colt Gray’s broken homelife: A mom with multiple drug arrests and a dad who gave him an AR-15 for Christmas

“There were nights where the mom would lock him and his sister out the house. And they would be banging on the back door, just screaming like ‘Mom! mom! mom!’ and crying. It was a…

nypost.com

Her criminal history spans 17 years, so she was a criminal fairly early in life, before her children were born. Drug abuse probably made her situation worse, but it sounds like she was a selfish, narcissistic, destructive person early in life. If only she had used birth control. JMO

 

[ChatteringBirds]

IMO: it doesn't sit well that family members of this shooter are already going to the media to claim he was asking for mental health help (can that claim be substantiated?) or had a horrible home life (probably true but not an excuse).

Have some class and let the community begin grieving.

Also, honestly, what did these relatives do about it? How did they step in to help out the kids? Did they try to help the shooter get help? Did the media quoting these "claims" even ask?

 

[Betty P]

IMO: it doesn't sit well that family members of this shooter are already going to the media to claim he was asking for mental health help (can that claim be substantiated?) or had a horrible home life (probably true but not an excuse).

Have some class and let the community begin grieving.

Also, honestly, what did these relatives do about it? How did they step in to help out the kids? Did they try to help the shooter get help? Did the media quoting these "claims" even ask?

They sound like a very narcissistic, dysfunctional and hostile family. Entitled, too, as if no one else's problems are more important than theirs. They never tried to fix their own problems, but blamed others instead. Typical.

Also note: Parents favored an unhealthy and bizarre trend of naming their male children after firearms.

 

[Elley Mae]

According to KFF, a non-profit that tracks health-related issues, 26 states have some legal language holding parents accountable if their child gets access to a gun and uses it to harm someone else. However, most of those laws didn’t exist until after a tragic event like a school shooting.
Georgia does not have a specific child access firearms prevention law.
Former Fulton County prosecutor Tanya Miller said the state still has ways to hold parents accountable -- from negligent homicide or involuntary manslaughter -- if the evidence shows some kind of negligence played a role.

What Georgia's law says about parental accountability in a school shooting

Georgia may not have a specific law, but there are ways to leverage laws on the books to still hold parents accountable.

www.11alive.com

Jackson County Sheriff’s Office did question Colt Gray and his father more than a year ago after being made aware of online threats to commit a school shooting. The case was closed, though, when Colt denied any knowledge or involvement, and the tip couldn’t be substantiated.

During that interview, though, law enforcement did learn his father had guns in the house, although he told investigators his son did not have "unfettered access" to them.

…

Did the pictures of guns that were shown on discord match the guns that colin owned?

 

[justtrish]

Huge props to Georgia Police department for quickly arresting the father on huge charges.

I’m more mad&angry with the father in this case than the actual shooter - This was clearly a very troubled child..so what does the father do..buys him a gun as a present - that was just asking for trouble.

Talk about irresponsible parenting.

I hope he gets the longest sentence possible and is given a very hard time in jail.

I agree and this morning I am actually feeling some sympathy for the shooter.

He had FBI come to his house because he had posted some very troubling things online.. and his dad did nothing. I think that can be seen as a cry for help and at that point it seems his mom was out of the house, they had to move, dad had all this other stuff going on and he has a son crying out for help and nothing..

Then we have the neighbor saying the kids would be locked out of the house, the younger sibling was at the house asking for food.

Mom is in and out of jail for drugs..

So what does a loving father do when there is absolute chaos going on for his kids? He buys his son a gun for Christmas.

Nothing excuses killing people, but there sure is a pattern here and we have a child that was terribly failed, a child that should have been caught before it got to this point.

 

[IceIce9]

IMO: it doesn't sit well that family members of this shooter are already going to the media to claim he was asking for mental health help (can that claim be substantiated?) or had a horrible home life (probably true but not an excuse).

Have some class and let the community begin grieving.

Also, honestly, what did these relatives do about it? How did they step in to help out the kids? Did they try to help the shooter get help? Did the media quoting these "claims" even ask?

The family members who are now coming out of the woodwork to claim the shooter needed mental health help, did any of them attempt to get help for him?

Frankly the aunt’s Facebook posts that are being widely circulated by the media are so difficult to understand what she is even trying to say.

JMO

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1831986548348236168

 

[nhmemorymaker]

We attempt to downplay the name of and the life of a shooter.

But this case is SUCH a trigger case. An ultimate picture of the power of drug abuse and guns, and how they affect the typical American family.

I am always interested in and appreciate hearing how our international websleuthers see this sad American scenario....