The mass shooter at a Georgia high school on Wednesday morning, September 4, that left two students and two teachers dead, has been identified as a 14-year-old.
Nine other people at Apalachee High School in Winder were hospitalized with gunshot wounds, including a math teacher who was left with a shattered hip. At least two victims were airlifted to a hospital.
One terrified survivor described how the gunman stopped and pounded on his barricaded classroom door and demanded “Open up!” before moving on.
Other students texted their parents and begged for help, telling them they loved them and that they were scared for their lives.
The suspected gunman — identified as Colt Gray, a student at the school – surrendered immediately after a school resource officer rushed in and confronted him just minutes after the first shots were fired around 10:20 a.m., Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said.
Gray was unharmed, and will be charged with murder as an adult, Horsey added.
“My heart hurts for these kids, my heart hurts for our community, but I want to make it very clear that hate will not prevail in this county,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said.
“I want that to be very clear and known,” he added. “Love will prevail over what happened today.”
Police have been interviewing Gray, and are also in touch with his family.
His motivations for the attack remain unclear, as it seemed he had no prior connection to the victims.
“None that I’m aware of,” Barrow County Sheriff Smith responded when asked.
Gray has been on the FBI’s radar since last year — when he was investigated by local authorities in connection to online school shooting threats, the bureau revealed.
In May 2023, the FBI received several anonymous tips about threats to carry out violence at an unidentified school, with the harrowing posts including photos of guns, according to a Wednesday night statement from the bureau’s Atlanta field office.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office identified Gray, then 13, as a possible suspect and interviewed him and his father.
Gray’s dad told investigators at the time that he had hunting guns in the house — but his son didn’t have unsupervised access to them, according to the statement
Gray, now 14, also denied making the school shooting threats.
There was no probable cause to take any further action, however, local schools were alerted “for continued monitoring” of Gray, according to the statement.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey confirmed that authorities are probing any possible links between the 2023 threats and Wednesday’s shooting at Apalachee High School.
