(The Center Square) – State authorities have announced that the father of the suspect accused of killing four and wounding nine more at a metro Atlanta high school has been arrested for his part in providing weapons for the suspect to use.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced Thursday evening that it had arrested Colin Gray, the shooter’s father, in connection with Wednesday’s attack on Apalachee High School in Barrow County, Georgia.
The move has a recent legal precedent: Prosecutors have previously convicted the parents of a school shooter who attacked a high school in Oxford, Michigan.
Authorities have charged the suspect in the shooting and he is in custody.
“Colin Gray was arrested on multiple charges earlier today,” the GBI released in a statement late Thursday. “He knowingly allowed his son…to have the weapon.”
During a press conference, GBI Director Chris Hosey said he was charged with four counts if involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children.
“These charges stem Mr. Gray knowingly allowing his son…to possess a weapon,” Hosey said.
Hosey said that copycat threats have cropped up across the state, frightening many.
“This is a very difficult time, as we know, for students and parents, and so many students and parents in this county and around the state are afraid,” Hosey said. “You all have likely seen reports of incidents of other students making threats at various schools around our state.”
“In each of these incidents, police and law enforcement took charge and made arrests and acted very swiftly as we take incidents like this very seriously across this state,” Hosey said.
Hosey said it is a time for those in the state to come together and remain vigilant.
The suspect has been charged with four counts of felony murder, Hosey said. He added that local, state and federal law enforcement continue working around the clock to investigate the incident at Apalachee High School and others as they arise.
James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of a student shooter who killed four of his peers at a high school in the suburbs of Detroit in 2021, were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year, the first time parents had been found guilty for that charge for their role in a school shooting.
