Georgia School Shooting Update: Colt Gray’s Mom Warned School, Aunt Says

Before Wednesday’s shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, the mother of the suspected shooter contacted the school about a serious emergency involving her son, according to a family member.
Colt Gray, 14, is the alleged shooter who opened fire at the school on Wednesday, killing students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo as well as teachers Richard Aspinwall and Cristina Irimie. Eight other students and one teacher were injured and are expected to make a full recovery.
Colt Gray is currently facing murder charges for the deaths of the two students and two teachers. Colin Gray, 54, his father, stands accused of second-degree murder for supplying his son with the semi-automatic AR 15-style rifle used in the incident.
Both father and son made their initial court appearance on Friday, with their lawyers opting not to request bail right away.
Annie Brown, the boy’s aunt, shared with The Washington Post that her sister, Marcee Gray, had sent a text where she mentioned speaking to a school counselor. She urged the school to locate her son urgently for a check-in.
Brown furnished the newspaper with screenshots of the text conversation for the story that was published Saturday. The family’s shared phone records, as reported by the newspaper, revealed a call made to the school approximately 30 minutes before the shooting began. Brown verified these details with the Associated Press via text messages but did not provide any additional details.
Shortly after the phone call, a school administrator went to Colt Gray’s math classroom, according to the Post, who spoke with an Apalachee High School student in the class. The student told the newspaper there seemed to be confusion involving another student in the class with a similar name. Neither Colt Gray nor the similarly named student were in the classroom at the time, according to the student. The school official left the class with a backpack belonging to the other student, the classmate said. The shooting began just minutes later.
When reached for comment via email Sunday afternoon, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) spokesperson deferred Newsweek to the Piedmont Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office. Newsweek attempted to contact District Attorney Brad Smith on Sunday afternoon for comment.
Newsweek emailed Barrow County Schools for further details Sunday afternoon.
Marcee Gray reportedly contacted the Post after the story published and confirmed the details in the texts and phone logs that were provided by Brown. She called the shooting “absolutely horrific” and expressed sorrow for the students and parents.
“I am so, so sorry and cannot fathom the pain and suffering they are going through right now,” Gray told the newspaper via text message.
The call records, text messages and interviews serve as the most compelling evidence to date that Apalachee High School staff were made aware of potential issues regarding the suspected shooter on the morning of the shooting. The text messages reviewed by the Post also reveal that the school and the family were discussing Colt’s mental state a week before the shooting. Moreover, in a communication with a family member, Brown disclosed that the teenager was contending with “homicidal and suicidal thoughts” during that period.
In a police report obtained by Newsweek, Colin Gray told officials in 2023 that his family was evicted from their prior address in Jefferson, Georgia. He and Marcee Gray were divorced, and she took the two younger kids while he and Colt moved together.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Marcee Gray graduated with a Bachelor of Science and Technology in Industrial Management and got her Master of Science in Occupational Safety and Health from Columbia Southern University. Her last listed work experience was as a Senior Quality Engineer at PCC Airfoils from January 2021 to September 2021.
The LinkedIn profile’s picture includes a young photo of Colt and his two siblings. Marcee Gray’s bio reads, “Continual improvement is my obsession. People, processes, product design, facilities, efficiency, morale – bring me your problems and I will find a solution.”
However, Marcee Gray also reportedly has a long criminal history dating back to March 2007 with five vehicle-related misdemeanors, including reckless driving, improper right turn, and DUI, according to The Independent.
Update: 9/8/24, 1:58 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with more information.