Colt Gray, the suspected gunman accused of killing four people in a mass school shooting in Georgia, reportedly told investigators “I did it” while being questioned.
The 14-year-old, who has been charged with four felony counts of murder, made the admission while being read his Miranda rights, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith told CNN.
Gray “immediately surrendered” when he was confronted by police at Apalachee High School in Winder on Wednesday, authorities said. He appeared at Barrow County Courthouse for his arraignment on Friday morning, where Judge Currie Mingledorff said the teenager could face life in prison if found guilty.
Gray’s 54-year-old father Colin has been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children. He also appeared in court of Friday and was told he faced up to 180 years in prison if found guilty of all charges.
“These charges stem from knowingly allowing his son Colt to possess a weapon,” GBI director Chris Hosey said during a press conference on Thursday.
Colin Gray reportedly purchased a high-powered, AR 15-style rifle as a holiday gift in for his son in December 2023.
The purchase came months after the Gray family were interviewed at their home by law enforcement officers over online threats to carry out a school shooting.
Colin Gray told investigators that he kept hunting guns in the house, but that his son did not have unsupervised access to them. The boy, meanwhile, denied making the online threats.
“Colt expressed concern that someone is accusing him of threatening to shoot up a school, stating that he would never say such a thing, even in a joking manner,” according to a police report obtained by The Independent.
During the interview, a sheriff’s deputy openly mused about the stakes of the 2023 investigation, saying “God forbid” if the online threats turned into an actual shooting, according to audio of the interview obtained by CNN.
Police notified local schools but no probable cause for an arrest was found at the time, according to the FBI.