The father of the 14-year-old student-- accused of killing four people with an AR-style rifle in the Wednesday shooting at a Georgia school-- has been arrested by US authorities. As per reports, 54-year-old Colin Gray "knowingly allowed" his son to have the murder weapon. A shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia left two students and two teachers dead. Seven other people – six students and a teacher – were also injured by being shot, and two other students suffered other injuries, authorities say.
Now, authorities have charged Colin Gray with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, according to a report by CNN.
Colt Grey has already been charged with four counts of felony murder. The teen is expected to be tried as an adult, CNN reported quoting the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Barrow County sheriff.
Why The Father Was Arrested?
Colin Gray's arrest reportedly came after the man told investigators that Colin Gray bought his son the AR-style rifle allegedly used in the school shooting as a Christmas gift last year.
According to a report by news publication Independent, the arm's purchase came months after the FBI received anonymous tips in May 2023 about online threats to carry out a school shooting, prompting local police to question the teen.
At the time, Gray reportedly denied being behind the posts. His father, meanwhile, told authorities that there were hunting guns in the family home – but that his son, then 13, did not have unsupervised access to them.
Investigators are now looking into the motive of the now 14-year-old suspected gunman. The shooting happened just weeks into the new school year. Authorities are likely to produce Cold before a court on Friday morning.
Wednesday’s mass shooting was the 45th school shooting so far this year and the deadliest US school shooting since the March 2023 massacre at The Covenant School in Nashville that left six people dead.