The individual accused of the high school shooting in Georgia is scheduled to make their initial court appearance, while the suspect's father is confronting charges of second-degree murder

The tragic commencement of the school year in a small city in northern Georgia has left the community in a state of profound sorrow, following the charges brought against a 14-year-old suspect and his father in relation to a shooting incident that resulted in the deaths of two students and two teachers earlier this week, as reported by authorities. 

Colt Gray, a student at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, faces four counts of felony murder after investigators determined that he discharged an AR-style rifle on the school premises on Wednesday morning, leading to the fatalities of four individuals, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Additionally, nine others sustained injuries, with all but two being gunshot victims, as stated by the GBI. 

"A young individual introduced a firearm into a school environment and perpetrated a heinous act, resulting in the loss of lives and inflicting injuries on numerous others—both physically and psychologically," remarked Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith during a press conference held on Thursday evening.

In the interim, officials have initiated actions to ensure that the teenager's father, Colin Gray, aged 54, is held responsible, as he was charged on Thursday with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of child cruelty, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

GBI Director Chris Hosey stated during a news conference on Thursday that the allegations against Mr. Gray arise from his conscious decision to permit his son Colt to have access to a firearm. 

The mass shooting that occurred on Wednesday was the 45th incident of its kind in schools for the year 2024, and it stands as the most lethal school shooting in the United States since the tragic event at The Covenant School in Nashville in March 2023, which resulted in the loss of six lives. 

Currently, the details available are as follows:

Colt Gray, a teenage suspect currently detained at the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, will continue to be held there until he reaches the age of 17, even though his case has been transferred to the adult judicial system, as confirmed by Glenn Allen, a spokesperson for the agency, in a statement to CNN on Thursday. According to Georgia law, any juvenile between the ages of 13 and 17 who is charged with a serious offense is automatically subjected to adult prosecution. Authorities have indicated that Colt Gray is anticipated to appear in court for the first time on Friday and is actively cooperating with the ongoing investigation.

The identities of the four individuals who lost their lives in the tragic shooting at Apalachee High School on Wednesday have been confirmed. Among the deceased are two 14-year-old students, Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn, along with two educators: 53-year-old math teacher Cristina Irimie and 39-year-old assistant football coach Richard Aspinwall, who also taught mathematics. A family friend revealed that Irimie was celebrating her birthday with her students on the day of the incident when she was fatally shot.

The nine individuals who sustained injuries during the incident are anticipated to recover completely. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), seven of the injured, which include six students and one teacher, were shot, while the remaining two, both students, suffered different types of injuries. Smith indicated on Thursday that all nine individuals are expected to make a full recovery from their respective injuries.

The shooting suspect, Colt Gray, was previously questioned regarding online threats made last year. In May 2023, law enforcement officials, including the FBI Atlanta and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, interrogated Gray and his father about alleged "online threats to commit a school shooting," which involved images of firearms. During the inquiry, the then 13-year-old Gray asserted that he was being falsely accused of making such threats and insisted that he would never utter such statements, even in jest. The authorities were unable to validate the threats, leading to the closure of the investigation, as reported by the sheriff’s office.

According to investigators, several schools were threatened, with Apalachee High School being the recipient of a phone threat on Wednesday morning, prior to the occurrence of gunfire on its campus. This threat indicated that shootings were planned at five different schools, including Apalachee High. Multiple law enforcement officials have informed CNN that the identity of the caller remains unknown. Although no evidence has been discovered to suggest that other schools were specifically targeted, authorities are actively following up on any leads related to potential associates of the shooter involved in this incident, as stated by Hosey.

Prior to the announcement of charges against Colin Gray on Thursday, two law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation revealed that he informed authorities he acquired the AR-style rifle utilized in the Apalachee High School shooting as a Christmas gift for his son in December 2023. This timeline indicates that the firearm was purchased several months after law enforcement had first reached out to Colin Gray and his family while probing a school shooting threat from the previous year.