The suspect in a Georgia high school shooting that left four dead had been under investigation by the FBI for making similar threats a year beforehand, multiple reports confirmed.
Colt Gray, 14, surrendered to a school resource officer after allegedly shooting four people dead and injuring nine others at Apalachee High School in Winder, a town in Barrow County, Georgia, on Wednesday.
He’s being charged as an adult in the murders of two students — Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn, both 14 — as well as 39-year-old teacher Richard Aspinwall and 53-year-old teacher Christina Irmie, NBC News reported.
The other victims are expected to make recoveries.
Officials with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations confirmed early Thursday morning that law enforcement was still looking at a timeline of how the shooting was planned and carried out, he said.
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“We’re still investigating that aspect of it,” said GBI Director Chris Hosey. “We’re still trying to clarify a lot of the timeline from the time that he got here to school today until the incident took place.”
However, one thing is clear: Gray, if he is the shooter, was already on the radar of the FBI.
According to WSB-TV, the FBI investigation was opened in May of 2023 after alleged online threats made by the suspect.
“Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum said they were made aware of the threats made to an online gaming site, and interviewed a 13-year-old and his father,” WSB reported.
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“The boy denied making the threats. Investigators determined that the threats could not be substantiated.
“The boy’s father confirmed that he had hunting guns in the house, but that he did not have unsupervised access to the weapons.”
The FBI confirmed the investigation in a statement.
“In May 2023, the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time,” the statement read.
“The online threats contained photographs of guns. Within 24 hours, the FBI determined the online post originated in Georgia and the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office referred the information to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office for action.”
The statement went on to say that “[a]t that time, there was no probable cause for arrest or to take any additional law enforcement action on the local, state, or federal levels.”
.@FBIAtlanta just confirmed the investigation into Apalachee High School alleged shooter Colt Gray in 2023. pic.twitter.com/dn3XVzEJX8
— Cody Alcorn (@CodyAlcorn) September 5, 2024
It was unclear from the statements and releases as to whether any agency, federal or local, kept tabs on Gray after the initial investigation.
No motive has yet been announced, nor is it clear that any clues pointing to one emerged in interviews with the suspect.
“I don’t know why it happened. We may never know,” said Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith, according to the New York Post.
However, the FBI is one of the agencies on the scene at Apalachee High School, according to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“We are still gathering information but the FBI and ATF are on the scene, working with state, local and federal partners,” Garland said during a media briefing.
“I’m devastated for the families who have been affected by this terrible tragedy. The Justice Department stands ready to provide resources or support the Winder community needs in the days ahead.”
