The suspect’s father i a school shooting in Georgia who killed four people Wednesday, his son reportedly bought a high-powered rifle late last year, a purchase that came months after police investigated the teenager for potential online threats to shoot up a school.
Colin Gray, father of suspected Apalachee High School gunman Colt Graytold investigators this week he bought the 14-year-old the AR 15 rifle used in the Christmas shooting death in December 2023, according to police sources told CNN.
In May 2023, The FBI got a tip about online threats of a school shooting. They tracked down the threats against Georgia and forwarded information to the Jackson County Sheriffs’ Office, who interviewed the Gray family.
Colin Gray said he continued to hunt for guns in the house, but Colt did not have unsupervised access to them. Colt, meanwhile, denied making the online threats.
Police notified local schools and no probable cause for an arrest was found at that time, according to the FBI.
At the time of the police questioning, Gray’s parents were going through a divorce, with the 14-year-old living with his father, while his mother took custody of two other children.
There is no minimum age requirement to possess a rifle under federal and state gun laws, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violencebut individuals must be 18or older to buy one according to both rules.
The military AR rifle is a powerful weapon that has been used in security threats across the country, including the latest assassination attempt against Donald Trump, and in a is appreciated 10 of the 17 deadliest mass shootings since 2012.
This is news and will be updated with new information.