Colt Gray, the teen charged in the deaths of four people at Apalachee High School, wrote plans for the mass shooting in a notebook and used a rifle that his father, Colin Gray, had given him for Christmas, GBI agents testified during a Wednesday hearing.
The 14-year-old also sent cryptic text messages to his parents just before the shooting, prompting his mother to call the high school and alert a counselor about 32 minutes before the first shots were fired.
The Sept. 4 incident was the deadliest school shooting in Georgia history. Two teachers and two students were killed and nine others were injured. Colt Gray was taken into custody soon after the shooting. Colin Gray was arrested the following day.
GBI Special Agent Lucas Beyer testified Wednesday at a preliminary hearing held in Barrow County for Colin Gray, providing new details about what happened.
Colt Gray is charged with four counts of murder and additional charges are expected, the DA’s office has said. Colin Gray faces four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children. A judge ruled Wednesday there was probable cause for Colin Gray’s charges and said the case can proceed.
A black notebook belonging to Colt Gray was recovered from the school after the shooting. It included various writings and drawings that appeared to be a plan for how to execute the shooting and estimations of casualty counts, Beyer testified. Authorities found another notebook while searching the teen’s home that included stick-figure drawings of his second period classroom.
Authorities said Colt Gray’s mother had grown increasingly worried about his access to firearms, regularly imploring Colin Gray to keep the weapons locked up.
“She had indicated to both of them that she wanted the weapons locked away so they were not accessible,” GBI Special Agent Kelsey Ward said on the stand.
Colt Gray’s parents had sought to get him counseling in the weeks leading up to the shooting and had planned to take him to a behavioral center in Athens on Aug. 31; that never happened, investigators learned. The night before the scheduled visit, Colin Gray and Marcee Gray argued about their son’s access to guns and never ended up taking him, Ward said.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
The weapon used in the shooting, a SIG Sauer M400, was purchased by Colin Gray in November 2023, as a Christmas gift for his son. He later bought his son a tactical vest, ammunition and sights for the weapon, agents testified. Colin Gray also told investigators he bought larger-capacity magazines for the rifle at his son’s request.
Investigators located ammunition in multiple rooms across the house, including inside Colt’s bedroom. Colt and his father regularly visited the gun range and spent time the week before the shooting adjusting the new rifle sight in the backyard of their home. Colt Gray kept the rifle in his bedroom, authorities said.
On Aug. 26, a little over a week before the shooting, Colt Gray referenced the Parkland, Florida, high school shooting during a phone call with his grandmother.
The GBI said he asked her, “If something terrible happened to me or if I did something terrible would you still love me?”
Agents said they discovered “a shrine of sorts” dedicated to school shootings in Colt Gray’s gaming room, including article clippings and news photos that were tacked to the wall behind the teen’s computer desk. Among the photographs was a picture of the Parkland shooter.
On the stand, Beyer read excerpts from Colt Gray’s black notebook describing how the teen planned to carry out his attack. The writings lay in meticulous detail plans for the attack.
Gray took the bus to school that morning but couldn’t conceal the entire gun in his backpack.
“We determined that the rifle was protruding out of the bookbag and the part of the rifle that was protruding from the bookbag was concealed with a rolled-up poster board,” Beyer testified.
At a quick glance, it appeared Colt Gray was simply transporting a school project, he said.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
He entered the school and went to his first period class on G Hall, where he didn’t talk to any other students, the agent said. Around 8:30 a.m., he asked his first period teacher to use the bathroom and entered the G Hall restroom before he returned to the classroom after a few minutes.
After first period, Colt Gray left the classroom and headed to J Hall for his second period class. After sitting down in the classroom, he took out the black notebook and placed it on his desk and was seen through video surveillance using his phone.
At around 9:54 a.m., he asked permission to go see the school counselor, taking his backpack but leaving the black notebook behind. Investigators said he went to the bathroom instead, spending about 20 minutes in the first stall preparing for the shooting.
Colt Gray exited the bathroom at 10:21 a.m., wearing yellow gloves, with the white poster board now wrapped across his lower torso concealing something. He returned to his second period classroom and stood outside, but the door was locked so he knocked.
Beyer said a student in the classroom approached the door and looked through the window at Colt Gray. The student then put his hand on his mouth and called the teacher, who approached the door. The teacher told students to go to the corner of the classroom. The teacher then pressed the button to initiate a school lockdown.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Colt Gray turned left and went to another classroom and opened fire, Beyer testified, saying six or seven people were shot there including student Christian Angulo, 14, who was killed.
Colt Gray then ran down J Hall where he encountered teacher Cristina Irimie, agents said. Irimie was also shot to death. Colt Gray continued on to I Hall, which intersects J Hall, and there he encountered Coach Richard Aspinwall and another coach, agents testified. Aspinwall was shot to death and the other coach was injured.
Gray then returned to J Hall and saw student Mason Schermerhorn, 14, exiting the bathroom, agents testified. After Mason was shot to death, officers got to J Hall, where they encountered Gray.
He surrendered, authorities said, and has been in custody ever since.
The morning of the shooting, Colin Gray told investigators he received concerning text messages from Colt’s mother and others. Colin Gray told investigators he returned home from work, turned on the news and saw that the shooting had occurred. He then went into Colt’s room and realized his son’s rifle was missing.
Authorities said Colt Gray texted both parents less than an hour before the shooting.
“I’m sorry. It’s not your fault ... .” he texted his dad at 9:42 a.m. “You’re not to blame for any of it.”
Eight minutes later, Ward testified, he texted his mom: “I’m sorry.”
