CNN
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In the wake of Wednesday’s school massacre in Georgia, a series of tumultuous events leading up to that tragic day stand out in memory. Here is a timeline of events that authorities and court records say occurred before, during and after the shooting that left four people dead at Apalachee High School.
• July 2022: Colt Gray’s family was evicted from their home in July 2022 by a Barrow County sheriff’s deputy for failing to pay rent, court records show. As part of the eviction, sheriff’s records show, deputies collected three firearms, including an AR-15, and at least one hunting bow and kept them for safekeeping. The weapons were later “returned to the owner,” the documents say.
• December 2022: Gray’s parents have separated. In a comment on a LinkedIn post, Marcee Gray wrote that she had left her husband, saying, “I have finally separated from my abusive husband of almost 14 years.”
• May 2023: The FBI received “multiple anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unknown location and time.” The online threats included photos of guns, according to the FBI. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office then interviewed Gray, then 13, and his father, Colin Gray, who said there were guns in the house but his son did not have access to them. Colin Gray denied making the online threats, an investigator wrote. Jackson County officials alerted local schools, but authorities concluded there was “no reasonable suspicion to warrant an arrest or further law enforcement action at the local, state or federal level,” according to the FBI.
• December 2023: Colin Gray, the suspect’s father, bought the gun allegedly used in the shooting as a Christmas present for his son, according to two law enforcement sources with direct knowledge of the investigation.
• August 2024: Just a week before the shooting, Apalachee High School implemented an ID system with a panic button feature that saved lives, teacher Stephen Kreyenbuhl said Thursday.
• 4 September: On Wednesday, Colt Gray left a classroom at about 9:45 a.m. at the start of an Algebra 1 class, student Lyela Sayarath said. Gray returned with a gun, the student said, but couldn’t get back into the locked classroom, so he went into the classroom next door and opened fire. The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office was notified about 10:20 a.m. and arrived a short time later with two school security officers. A security officer confronted the gunman, who immediately surrendered to the deputy and was taken into custody, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said. The shooting left two students and two teachers dead and nine injured. During questioning, Gray told investigators, “It was me.” He was later booked into the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, Smith said. Gray is now charged with four counts of murder in connection with the shooting, charging documents show.
• 5 September: On Thursday, Gray’s father, Colin Gray, 54, was arrested in connection with the school massacre and charged with four counts of manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of child abuse, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. Authorities also issued an update, saying all nine people injured in Wednesday’s rampage are expected to make a full recovery.
