Father of Georgia school shooting suspect arrested on charges including second-degree murder
CTV
The father of the teenager accused of opening fire at a Georgia high school, killing four people and wounding nine, was arrested on various charges including second-degree murder, authorities said Thursday.
Content warning: The following story contains descriptions of violence. Reader discretion is advised.
The father of the teenager accused of opening fire at a Georgia high school, killing four people and wounding nine, was arrested on various charges including second-degree murder, authorities said Thursday.
Colin Gray, 54, the father of Colt Gray, was charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a social media post.
“These charges stem from Mr. Gray knowingly allowing his son, Colt, to possess a weapon,” GBI Director Chris Hosey said at an evening news conference. “His charges are directly connected with the actions of his son and allowing him to possess a weapon.”
In Georgia, second-degree murder means that a person has caused the death of another person while committing second-degree cruelty to children, regardless of intent. It is punishable by 10 to 30 years in prison, while malice murder and felony murder carry a minimum sentence of life. Involuntary manslaughter means that someone unintentionally causes the death of another person.
Authorities have charged 14-year-old Colt Gray as an adult with murder in the shootings Wednesday at Apalachee High School outside Atlanta. Arrest warrants obtained by the AP accuse him of using a semiautomatic assault-style rifle in the attack, which killed two students and two teachers and wounded nine other people.
The teen denied threatening to carry out a school shooting when authorities interviewed him last year about a menacing post on social media, according to a sheriff’s report obtained Thursday.
