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

[ChatteringBirds]

It's hard to play the 'years of bullying' card when there's a good chance that every person he shot didn't even know his name yet.

This is just my sense -- most mass shooters feel "bullied/wronged," though. IMO he would have noticed after only a day or two how others at a new school responded to his presence. He may have felt ignored or even excluded very quickly. (I am not blaming anyone but just saying I think it could only take a day or two to feel that way.)

Maybe- he wasn't getting noticed in the way he wanted. And as a teenager, he couldn't process it beyond that, couldn't see his own role in it and couldn't see a way it could change for the better.

 

[QB2022]

It's easy to have empathy for his background, one wonders if he ever had a chance. It still does not discount from what he did and he absolutely never needs to walk free again. He was absolutely failed as a child but he knew what he was doing and did it anyway.

 

[Leopard]

MOO - I think that CG was tired of not being taken seriously by adults meant to protect him. He knew CPS had failed him and it doesn't sound like he had much luck with school admin. The only time he was taken seriously during a cry for help was by the FBI, and he probably had seen through his family that prison provided a place to live where he couldn't be kicked out via violence, eviction, revenge, etc.

 

[Sundog]

Good information.

Some additional SCOTUS rulings regarding serious crimes and minor include:

- Minors can be sentenced to LWOP, but the sentence cannot be automatic.

- Juveniles sentenced to very long periods of times for most murder and all non murder cases must have a "meaningful opportunity for parole".

But.... then SCOTUS refused to hear a case where a conservative state defined "meaningful opportunity" as being eligible for parole after serving something like 40 years. So, what constitutes a "meaningful opportunity" seems to be up to the state.

Ethan Crumbley in Michigan was sentenced to life without parole following a hearing to determine if he could be rehabilitated. After hearing expert testomony, the judge sentenced him to LWOP. So no "meaningful opportunity " for him.

 

[Elley Mae]

I'm assuming public schools in Georgia are structured the same as in Missouri. In Missouri:

• Elementary school - grades K-5
• Middle school - grades 6-8
• High school - grades 9-12.

In Missouri, it's possible for kids in the same elementary school to go to the same or different middle schools. For example, my wife and I attended the same elementary school (we were actually in the same 4th grade class). Then, she went to one middle school and I went to another (within the same school district). After middle school, we both went to the same high school.

What I'm getting at it is possible he was bullied in middle school and one or more of the bullies moved onto the same high school he just started attending.

When daughter was student there it was k thru 8 9th thru 12th.

Depends on location.

Saw a school in tennessee k thru 12.

 

[STLBlues]

Except West Jackson Middle School, where he was having a lot of trouble, has a high school - Jackson County High School - right near it. And Jefferson Middle School, where he went after and did better, is to the east of both and has its own high school near it too!

Apalachee High School where this happened is WAY south and west, completely the other side of Winder. I can't imagine many kids from West Jackson or Jefferson Middle Schools went to Apalachee High. It's way too out of the way.

New Disturbing Details Revealed About Colt Gray's Troubled Life

Suspected Apapache High School shooter Colt Gray, 14, alleglly had a Discord username referring to Sandy Hook Elementary killer Adam Lanza.

www.newsweek.com

High School

www.google.com

MOO

Ah, I misunderstood the timeline. I thought he went to a middle school associated with Apalachee High last year and that's where the bullying was allegedly taking place. Thanks for the correction.

 

[Chimera]

I don't know if Mr. Gray's rocking back and forth at the hearing are a sign of his anxiety or a sign of a drug addiction or both. jmo

Georgia school shooter Colt Gray and his father Colin in court

The 14-year-old is accused of using a semiautomatic assault-style rifle to kill two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder, outside Atlanta.

www.dailymail.co.uk

The father of Georgia school shooter Colt Gray sobbed and rocked back and forth during his first appearance at Barrow County Superior Court on Friday.
Colin Gray shuffled in wearing a prison-issued striped shirt and tracksuit, in shackles like his son. He stated his name in a croaky voice, confirming his age, and that he was able to read and write.
Smh.

The time for tears was before this.

Maybe the fbi showing up at your house to question your child about threats was the time for being devastated ?
And it sounds like Mr. Gray downplayed it, or worse.

Is the rocking back and forth, a sign he's going to claim mental issues ?
Not feeling sorry for C. Gray. Because of his son's actions -- other families have lost their own flesh and blood, and will be planning funerals for four individuals.

Two of them barely beginning their lives.
Spouses who lost their husband/wife, children who lost a parent, older people who lost their adult children.
And on and on.
Omo.

 

[Chimera]

Ethan Crumbley in Michigan was sentenced to life without parole following a hearing to determine if he could be rehabilitated. After hearing expert testomony, the judge sentenced him to LWOP. So no "meaningful opportunity " for him.

Really expecting the same for Colt.
And imo there's no time in his life that he can be trusted to walk freely amongst us.
If he needs counseling, therapy, or meds --he can get it behind bars.
Omo.

 

[Cryptic]

I am sure he feels devastated and blindsided by what is happening to him, but he brought this on himself when he GAVE a gun to his troubled son AFTER the FBI came to the house.

I am thinking that he reflects a pattern that has happened before with mass shootings:

- My life is not going well. I am stuck in a series of dead end jobs and have trouble at home. I am not viewed as knowledgeable about anything. Nobody respects me.

- I have been informed that my son is dangerous. But, I want to demonstrate that I am knowledgeable and do have authority- alot of authority. I will show them how wrong they are! I may not be in control of much- but I am in control of this. Authority and knowledge equal respect- right?

- I then use that "knowledge" and determine that my son is not dangerous and can be trusted with weapons. I then use that authority to give him at least one weapon (It would be interesting to know what rifle was used to kill the deer- .223 is not a common cartridge for deer hunting).

- Things go down hill in a horrendous way.....

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

Georgia school shooter Colt Gray and his father Colin in court

The 14-year-old is accused of using a semiautomatic assault-style rifle to kill two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder, outside Atlanta.

www.dailymail.co.uk

The father of Georgia school shooter Colt Gray sobbed and rocked back and forth during his first appearance at Barrow County Superior Court on Friday.
Colin Gray shuffled in wearing a prison-issued striped shirt and tracksuit, in shackles like his son. He stated his name in a croaky voice, confirming his age, and that he was able to read and write.
Smh.

The time for tears was before this.

Maybe the fbi showing up at your house to question your child about threats was the time for being devastated ?
And it sounds like Mr. Gray downplayed it, or worse.

Is the rocking back and forth, a sign he's going to claim mental issues ?
Not feeling sorry for C. Gray. Because of his son's actions -- other families have lost their own flesh and blood, and will be planning funerals for four individuals.

Two of them barely beginning their lives.
Spouses who lost their husband/wife, children who lost a parent, older people who lost their adult children.
And on and on.
Omo.

Rocking back and forth is not a symptom of any mental illness anymore than clearing your voice, smiling, or twirling your hair is.

 

[Breezie]

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

Asked to characterize Colt, Vickers said, “he wasn’t a bully or a mean kid. He didn’t say much. He was so quiet,” she said, noting that he was a classmate of her daughter, Berlin.

She said Colt didn’t speak much, but that she’d often see him skipping school, wandering around the woods and in the unbuilt houses at nearby developments.

Colt skipped school a lot, in 2022, from what the neighbor had said.
He may have also missed a lot of school in 2023.
He was starting high school a month after the school year had begun in Georgia.
The fact that he headed first to his Algebra class may not have been random.
If he missed a lot of math in middle school and also the first month of Algebra, then he could have been completely lost in math. He probably should have been placed in a remedial math class or pre-algebra.

 

[Dotta]

Rocking back and forth is not a symptom of any mental illness anymore than clearing your voice, smiling, or twirling your hair is.

But it might be a symptom of ...
Acting talent.

 

[Arkay]

IMO the father rocking in court is just nervous and angry energy, because I think he’s astonished to find himself charged with these crimes.

My feeling as an outsider is that he considered himself a great dad, a cool dad, a fun “let’s go hunting dad,” a dad whose trophy picture is his son with the post-hunting blood smeared on his face, a dad who successfully got custody of his kids and is REALLY ANGRY NOW that his son messed up the dad’s life.

I wonder if he spared even a moment for the victims of his son’s actions.

I’m totally spitballing but this is my fleeting impression of the father.

 

[Lyanna]

Question: At first they said they’d seek the death penalty for the shooter. How or why was it changed to life in prison?

He's under 18 yrs old so DP is not an option

Ebm

Moo

 

[Dotta]

He's under 18 yrs old so DP is not an option

Ebm

Moo

But...
isn't it strange that it was brought at all?
It seems like a kind of blunder IMO.

 

[Lyanna]

But...
isn't it strange that it was brought at all?
It seems like a kind of blunder IMO.

Is strange to me but am in UK and the laws in America are nothing I know about at all lol. Each state seems to have different things too! Is fascinating to learn about and am always in awe of those posters who are so knowledgeable about it all
(Ps - good to see you - hope you're OK? X)

Moo

 

[fred&edna]

All public schools should be equipped with metal detectors, school resource officers, and all modern technology to prevent more lost lives... because there is no responsibility elsewhere in the child's life.

jmo

 

[georgiajean]

When I look at CG's family, I see many families like ones I work with in schools over the last 10 years. Families torn apart by substance abuse, physical and mental health struggles, and more. I see how this families struggles were hidden, and not addressed (despite MANY referrals to CPS over the years from family and community members and most likely school staff who are mandated reporters). But now? Now every resource in the book is going to be leveraged, and this teen and likely father are going to be taken care of for the rest of their lives.

If we would just use all these resources BEFORE things get to this point, how many lives could we save? And I'm not just talking about the people murdered, but about the lives lost to poverty, addiction, abuse, and massively underfunded schools and lack of real health care. As a nation, we really drop a lot of balls, and then suddenly there is the money when the unthinkable horror occurs and innocents are killed and many more traumatized for life. Preventive measures are WAY cheaper. And more effective.
All MOO>

 

[Chimera]

Rocking back and forth is not a symptom of any mental illness anymore than clearing your voice, smiling, or twirling your hair is.

I didn't say that it was, just asking if he's planning his defense; but we will see.
He may be planning on some type of mental illness defense.
Some perps do.
It isn't necessarily effective.
Omo.

 

[Chimera]

But...
isn't it strange that it was brought at all?
It seems like a kind of blunder IMO.

Good question.
Possibly a formality ?

I thought when it was brought up soon after the murders, that since he is a minor, those charges would be downgraded.
At least he's being charged as an adult.
No short stint in juvie for Colt Gray !

And speculating here --- he may be locked up for a very, very long time.
Imo.
Omo.