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Who is Colt Gray? What we know about the 14-year-old suspected Apalachee school shooter
The suspect was already known to officials
TWO 14-year-old students and two teachers have been killed in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia.
But who was the shooter? Here’s everything we know about suspected killer Colt Gray.
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Who is suspected school shooter Colt Gray?
Gray is 14 and described as a quiet child by those who know him.
Fellow student Lyela Sayarath, who was sitting next to Gray in the lead-up to the shooting, said, "He never really talked."
“He wasn't there most times. Either he didn't just come to school or he would just skip class," she said.
"Even when he would've talked it was just one-word answers or short statements.”
Sayarath explained that although she had no indication the shooting would occur, she was not surprised to learn Gray was the suspect.
"Just because of when you think of shooters and how they act or things that they do, it's normally the quiet kid," she said.
Elaborating on the shooting itself, Sayarath said Gray left the classroom at the start of the period and did not return until the end.
At that point, the doors were locked shut and Gray was not permitted to reenter, following instructions sent to the teacher by email.
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“They almost let him in, but I’m pretty sure she saw that he had a gun and so she backed away," Sayarath said.
“And then he turned away and that’s when you hear like the first round of fire.”
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Gray grew up in a house with hunting guns and had previously been questioned by the FBI.
The bureau had received “several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time.”
After finding guns at the family home, officials questioned Gray and his dad, who argued his son “did not have unsupervised access to them.”
Police decided there was no “probable cause for arrest” but reportedly “continued monitoring” the teen.
The gunman in the Apalachee High School shooting used an AR-15-style rifle.
Has Colt Gray been charged?
Law enforcement arrived at the shooting shortly after 10:20 am on September 4, 2024, and “immediately encountered the subject,” according to Barrow County Sherriff Jud Smith.
"The subject immediately surrendered. He gave up, got on the ground. And the officers took him into custody."
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Following his arrest, Gray is now due to be charged.
Despite being a minor, he will be tried as an adult.
Officials say they have not yet identified a motive for the attack.
Who are the victims of the Apalachee school shooting?
The victims of the attack were students Mason Schermerhorn, 14, and Christian Angulo, 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53.
Mason was an autistic boy described as having an “upbeat attitude about everything.”
Christian was a freshman in the same year, with his older sister remembering him as “very sweet and caring.”
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Aspinwall was a math teacher and assistant football coach at the school, who reportedly died as he was trying to escort children to safety.
Little is known at present about fellow math teacher Irimie.
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