The mother of the 14-year-old alleged Apalachee High School shooter called the school minutes before the shooting to warn of an “extreme emergency” involving her son, according to The Washington Post.
Marcee Gray, mother of suspect Colt Gray, texted her sister that she had notified the school counselor that “it was an extreme emergency and for them to go immediately and find [her son] to check on him,” according to text messages obtained by then Post. The outlet also obtained a call log from the family’s phone plan showing a 10-minute phone call placed at 9:50 a.m. from the mother’s phone to the school, 30 minutes before the Sept. 4 shooting started.
A school counselor told Marcee during the call that her son was talking about a school shooting, according to Annie Brown, Marcee’s sister.
Text messages obtained by the Post from Brown show that the family was in contact with the school about Colt’s mental health a week before the shooting. Brown also told a family member that Colt was having “homicidal and suicidal thoughts,” according to the outlet.
Flowers are laid out as students and faculty as well as community members gather for a vigil after a shooting at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
Brown also told the Post that Colt was “begging for help from everybody around him” and that “the adults around him failed him.” Colt allegedly had a difficult home life, with his mother pleading guilty to a family violence charge in December 2023 and ordered to have limited contact with her husband.
The FBI received a tip in May 2023 that Colt allegedly made threats, and he was questioned by local authorities. However, officials claimed they did not have probable cause for an arrest, and Gray denied making the threats.
Colt allegedly opened fire with an AR-15 pattern rifle at Apalachee High School, killing four and injuring nine. Colt surrendered when a school resource officer confronted the teen.
Colt stands charged with four counts of felony murder, and his father, Colin Gray, is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children. The gun Colt used was reportedly gifted to him by Colin.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation told the Daily Caller News Foundation that they do not plan to reveal investigative details at this time and directed all inquiries to the Piedmont Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.
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