Georgia high school shooting suspect Colt Gray and his father are seen in chilling police bodycam one year before massacre
Gripping footage of the moment cops missed their biggest chance to stop Georgia school shooting suspect Colt Gray in his tracks has been released, five days after the attack that left four dead.
Gripping footage of the moment cops missed their biggest chance to stop Georgia school shooting suspect Colt Gray in his tracks has been released, five days after the attack that left four dead.
Officers from Jackson County Sheriffs Office visited the family home in Jefferson in May last year after they were warned by the FBI that Colt had threatened a school shooting in a message on the gaming platform Discord.
Police bodycam footage shows Colts father casually sipping an energy drink on the porch as he admits his then 13-year-old son has access to unsecured guns in the house behind him, but insists he will be mad as hell if the claims turn out to be true.
Asked to summon Colt, he tells the cops to instill in him.. This is no joke.
But he holds his hands out as he warns: Now look hes going to get all red face when you talk to him, just.. Calm.
Colin Gray seemed surprised to see police on the doorstep of his Jefferson home
He warned police to remain calm when talking to his son during their visit in May last year
Gray, 54, faces four counts of manslaughter and two counts of second-degree murder amid claims he gave his son the AR-15-style rifle used in the massacre at Apalachee High School on Wednesday.
The father-of-three told the officers he was old officers he was in shock and a little p***ed off at the claims and claims he has had conversations with his son about school shootings.
The footage opens with an officer asking him whether his son plays a lot of computer games and stuff.
Yeah he does, like all the time, Gray replies.
Do you think theres something he might wanna..? the cop asks.
I damn sure want to know, Gray insists as he cracks open his can.
He nods when the officer asks him whether there are weapons in the house, and admits they are, when asked if they are accessible by Colt.
I mean theres nothing loaded but they are there, he explains. We actually do a lot of shooting, we do a lot of deer hunting, he shot his first deer this year.
Challenged directly over threats of a school shooting, Gray replies: I dont know anything about him saying **** like that.
Im going to be mad as hell if he did, and then all the guns will go away. And they wont be accessible to him.
Dressed casually in a baggy T-shirt and sweatpants the alleged killer cut a very different figure to the long-haired blond teenager seen in court last week.
His father seemed keen to end the interview as Colt denied making threats online
Sixteen months later teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39 and Cristina Irimie, 53, were to lose their lives alongside students Mason Schermerhorn, 14, and Christian Angulo, 14, in the deadliest school shooting in the states history
Gray cut a very different figure as he cried and rocked back and forth in a court appearance on Friday charged with four counts of manslaughter and two counts of second-degree murder
Colt Gray too was unrecognizable as he made his first court appearance on Friday
You know Im trying to be honest with him, he continues.
Im trying to teach him about firearms and safety and how to do it all and get him interested in the outdoors, like off his phone.
Get him away from those video games, the cop giggles complicitly.
Exactly right, Colts father replies.
The high school outside Winder remains closed five days after the deadliest school shooting in the states history claimed the lives of two 14-year-olds and two teachers.
Gray, who appeared in the same courthouse as his son of Friday deserves to die for turning his son into a mass murderer, the boys grandfather Charlie Polhamus told Dailymail.com on Monday.
Polhamus, the father of Grays former wife Marcee, said Colt didnt have any guidance, and he was allowed to watch whatever he wanted on TV and the internet when staying with his father.
Hes a full-fledged narcissist and he finally getting what he deserves, he added.
Gray insisted he took an active interest in his son as he was questioned by the police 16 months ago.
I ask him are you getting picked on at school? Gray said.
He is. Hes getting picked on at school. And is everything ok?
Thats why I keep going up there.
Seconds later, Colt is seen emerging nervously onto the porch after being summoned by his father.
Dressed casually in a baggy T-shirt and sweatpants he cut a very different figure to the long-haired blond teenager seen in court last week.
But in the footage he was wearing an only slightly smaller version of the silver crucifix dangling on a chain around his fathers neck.
Did your dad kind of explain everything to you? the cop asks him.
Colt has his hands in his pockets and sways slightly from side to side as he begins to mumble a reply.
He said something about..
Shooting up a school, his father interjects his eyes focused on the ground.
Did you say something about shooting up a school? the officer asks.
Never, I just told him, I dont know what, maybe they misheard somebody else, I dont remember saying.. the boy replies.
Do you use Discord? the officer inquires.
Discord?
Yes sir, the officer says.
Um, I used to, I dont have it anymore.
When was the last time you used it? he is asked.
Um, maybe like a few months ago..
He said he had it deleted because I think it got like it had been password pulled or something, like I had clicked on a link and somebody had..
I mean Im not trying to get anyone hemmed up or anything, the officer says, but this is some serious stuff.
Oh he knows how serious it is, trust me, Gray interjects.
Colts father Colin Gray (pictured left) is facing felony charges in connection with the shooting. Polhamus claims the boys dad ruined Colt and wasnt a supportive parent
Colt insisted he never saw threats of a shooting on the platform, and his father seemed keen to wind up the interview as the officer sums up what he has been told.
Hes telling me he didnt, the cop says.
Yeah, says Gray, now leaning on a wall.
Hes telling me he cant remember anything like that?
Yep, the father confirms.
I take you at your word, the cop tells Colt. If you look me in the eye and tell me thats what youre telling me?
Colt nods as the officer admits: Ive got no choice but to take you at your word right now.
But like I was telling your dad if we find out otherwise then its a different story.
Its a really different story, his father growls.
Colt is being tried as an adult and was told at his court appearance on Friday that he could spend the rest of his life behind bars for the violent present.
His father faces eight counts of cruelty to children, as well as his murder and manslaughter charges.
The father and son both appeared at Barrow County Superior Court on Friday, in shackles and handcuffed at the front of their body.
Colt reportedly told police I did it when read his Miranda rights after his arrest on Wednesday.
The teen, dressed in a green T-shirt and grey sweatpants, kept his head down, with his hair covering his face, and spoke softly only to Judge Currie Mingledorff, replying yes sir when asked to confirm his name.
Meanwhile his father, Colin, cried as he appeared shortly after his son in the same courtroom, rocking back and forth.
Colt was introduced to weapons by his father, who claims he took him hunting out of fear he could be caught up in a school shooting and unable to defend himself. Colt is pictured in January 2023 with a 450 Bushmaster AR-15 semi-automatic rifle that he used to kill a deer
Since the deadly rampage, it has emerged that Colt, pictured as a toddler, had a seemingly unstable childhood. His mother Marcee (left) has a criminal record spanning more than 17 years and his father Colin (right) was allegedly dysfunctional and could be heard screaming and hollering every day
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.
Judge Mingledorff advised the elder Gray that he could face up to 30 years in prison for each felony murder count, 10 years for each involuntary manslaughter charges and cruelty to children – the maximum totaling 180 years.
Hes getting what he deserves. My grandson is getting what he deserves, too, Polhamus said.
Vengeance is mine, say the lord.
