As a Georgia community grapples with the devastating consequences of a school shooting that left two students and two teachers dead, details have emerged about the troubled home life of the 14-year-old shooter, Colt Gray.
Gray has been charged in the deaths of students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie in Wednesday’s shooting at Apalachee High School. Nine others were wounded.
Charged with four felony counts of murder, Gray will be tried as an adult. His 54-year-old father, who was also arrested, allegedly gave him a high-powered AR-15-style rifle for Christmas. But the teen’s fascination with guns began way before that.
According to The Independent, Colt Gray was reportedly “obsessed” with mass school shootings, and investigators questioned him last year over online threats made about a school shooting.
His dad admitted to having guns in the family home, telling an investigator in FBI audio footage last year: “There’s nothing – nothing loaded. But they are [in the house]. We actually do a lot of shooting, we do a lot of deer hunting. He shot his first deer this year.”
Gray’s mother, Marcee (43), has a history of drug and domestic violence arrests. Her rap sheet includes charges for domestic violence, drug possession, property damage, and driving under the influence.
Neighbours described a tumultuous home life for the Gray family. Lauren Vickers, who lived next-door, told the New York Post there were frequent arguments and disputes, with the mother sometimes locking her children out of the house.
“It was constant abuse,” she said. “It’s very, very sad.”
Gray’s maternal grandfather told CNN that he was “just a good kid” who “lived in an environment that was hostile.” “His dad beat up on him, I mean, I’m not talking about physical, but screaming and hollering, and he did the same thing to my daughter,” Charles Polhamus said, adding that the boy did not show any outward anger issues but was affected by his upbringing.
Gray’s aunt, Annie Brown, said that her nephew had been struggling with mental health issues and had been “begging for help” in the months leading up to the shooting.
“The adults around him failed him,” she said.
The teen’s father has also been charged in the case and faces up to 180 years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors are increasingly holding parents accountable for providing weapons to their children, which could lead to stricter gun control measures.