Questions surround weapon, motive in deadly Georgia high school shooting
(WINDER, Ga.) — As investigators worked to determine a motive behind Wednesday’s deadly school shooting in Georgia, they said they were also seeking answers about the weapon allegedly used by the 14-year-old suspect.
The shooting early Wednesday at Apalachee High School in Winder killed two students and two teachers, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53, were killed, along with students Mason Schermerhorn, 14, and Christian Angulo, 14, officials said. Nine others were injured, officials said.
The suspect, Colt Gray, a student at the school, surrendered Wednesday and was taken into custody, the GBI said. He will be charged with murder and he will be tried as an adult, the GBI said.
He was being held Thursday morning at Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center, the Department of Juvenile Justice told ABC News’ affiliate WSB-TV.
Chris Hosey, the director of the GBI, said Wednesday night that an AR-platform-style weapon was used in the incident.
Officials said they did not yet have any answers for how Gray was allegedly able to obtain the gun to get it into the school. County Sheriff Jud Smith said that Gray was interviewed by investigators and GBI, but did not disclose further details.
A motive has not yet been determined and it is unknown if the victims were targeted, investigators said.
The FBI said on Wednesday that the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, acting on an alert, interviewed the alleged shooting suspect in 2023.
“In May 2023, the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time,” the FBI post read.
The FBI added, “Within 24 hours, the FBI determined the online post originated in Georgia and the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office referred the information to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office for action.”
(WINDER, Ga.) — State investigators are revealing new details surrounding the gun a 14-year-old boy allegedly used to kill two teachers and two students at his Georgia high school.
Colt Gray allegedly brought the AR-15-style rifle used in last week’s shooting — a Christmas present from his dad, according to sources — to school on his own, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Thursday. The long gun “could not be broken down,” so the teen hid it in his backpack, the GBI said.
The morning of the shooting, Gray asked his teacher for permission to go to the front office and speak with an unidentified person, the GBI said. The teacher allowed him to leave and take his belongings with him, the GBI said.
The 14-year-old then went to the bathroom and hid from teachers, and later allegedly took out the rifle and started shooting, according to the GBI.
Colt Gray is accused of killing four people and injuring nine others at Apalachee High School on Sept. 4.
Seven of the nine people who were wounded suffered gunshot wounds, the GBI clarified on Thursday.
Colt Gray is charged with four counts of felony murder. More charges will be filed, prosecutors said.
The teen’s father, Colin Gray, is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, the GBI said. He is accused of knowingly allowing his son to possess the weapon used in the shooting, according to the GBI.
Investigators believe Colt Gray received the AR-style gun used in the shooting as a Christmas present from his father, according to sources.
Colt Gray and Colin Gray both made their first court appearances on Friday. Neither has entered a plea and both are set to return to court on Dec. 4.
(NEW YORK) — Hurricane Francine strengthened on Tuesday into a Category 1 storm, with winds reaching 75 mph, as it churned in the Gulf of Mexico. The storm is expected to make landfall Wednesday afternoon or early evening in Louisiana, southwest of New Orleans.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Latest forecast
Tropical storm conditions have reached the Louisiana coastline, and life-threatening storm surge and hurricane-force winds are expected to begin in the next few hours leading up to Hurricane Francine’s landfall.
130PM: These bands will continue through the evening hours and into the overnight. Locally heavy rainfall and tornadoes will be possible inside these bands along with the damaging winds from the hurricane. pic.twitter.com/o8hu1Zng5A
A hurricane watch is in effect in New Orleans, where the worst impacts will be Wednesday afternoon through Wednesday night.
A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Mississippi and Louisiana, including New Orleans.
Storm surge will worsen throughout the day. Up to 10 feet of storm surge is possible in parts of Louisiana; up to 5 feet is possible in the New Orleans area.
Flash flooding is a major threat for Louisiana and Mississippi.
Conditions across Louisiana will start to improve overnight as Francine weakens and moves north into Mississippi.
Francine will rapidly weaken after landfall and become a tropical storm by Thursday, but it’ll still bring heavy rain to the South.
Flash flooding will remain a threat through the end of the week as Francine moves north into Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri.
The threat for isolated tornadoes will continue through Thursday morning, especially in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
-ABC News’ Melissa Griffin
Conditions deteriorating in southern Louisiana
Conditions are deteriorating in southern Louisiana as Hurricane Francine gets closer to landfall.
The storm, located 120 miles southwest of Morgan City, Louisiana, is moving northeast at 13 mph.
Rain bands are moving on shore and the dangerous winds are closing in.
-ABC News’ Melissa Griffin
‘The time to evacuate has now passed’
With hours to go until Hurricane Francine makes landfall in Louisiana, “the time to evacuate has now passed,” Jacques Thibodeau, the director of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said at a news conference.
“It is now time to go down and hunker down,” he said. “We are no longer in the, ‘Prepare for a hurricane’ — we are now in the, ‘Respond to a hurricane.'”
The White House has approved an emergency declaration for the state. The Louisiana National Guard expects to have 2,400 guardsmen ready for the storm, along with 58 boats, 101 high water vehicles and 61 aircrafts, officials said.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said he’s been in contact with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers, and said he’s fully confident in all state and federal agencies working together before, during and after the hurricane.
Landry also encouraged residents to “take advantage of the power that you have currently and make sure that you charge all of your devices.”
-ABC News’ Alexandra Faul
New Orleans residents should start sheltering in place
Residents in New Orleans should stay off the roads beginning at noon ET and remain sheltered in place until Thursday morning, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said.
“Conditions will worsen throughout the day—stay safe!” she tweeted.
Hurricane Francine is expected to make landfall along the Louisiana coast this evening as a Category 1 storm.
By 11 AM, everyone in New Orleans should stay off the roads and shelter in place until tomorrow morning.
Francine is churning north as a Category 1 hurricane with 90 mph winds.
Landfall is forecast Wednesday afternoon or early evening as a Category 1 hurricane near Houma, Louisiana.
Life-threatening storm surge, flash flooding and hurricane-force winds are bearing down on Louisiana.
The storm surge could reach 10 feet along the Louisiana coast and wind gusts could hit 70 mph in New Orleans.
“Ensure you are in a safe location before the onset of strong winds or possible flooding,” the National Hurricane Center warned.
By Thursday morning, Francine will be bringing rain and gusty winds to Mississippi, and potential tornadoes to Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
Throughout the day Thursday, the heavy rain and tornado threat will move into northern Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. Flash flooding is possible near Memphis and Nashville.
-ABC News’ Max Golembo
Weather warnings for Gulf Coast states
A raft of warnings was issued for cities in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama ahead of Hurricane Francine’s expected landfall on Wednesday afternoon.
A hurricane watch was issued for New Orleans, with hurricane warnings for Morgan City and Houma on Louisiana’s Gulf Coast.
Tropical storm warnings are in place further east, covering cities including Biloxi, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama.
Storm surge warnings were announced for both Biloxi — where water may rise up to 5 feet — and Mobile, where water levels may rise by up to 4 feet.
Francine is expected to make landfall as either a high-end Category 1 or low-end Category 2 hurricane, with winds between 90 and 100 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. The Category 2 classification begins with winds of 96 mph.
Landfall may bring tornadoes in areas around New Orleans, Biloxi, Mobile and Pensacola, Florida.
Heavy rain may cause flash flooding from New Orleans all the way up to Jackson, Mississippi through to Wednesday night. As the storm moves into Mississippi on Thursday, it is forecast to produce flash flooding and gusty winds.
Francine is expected to stall through Thursday night into Friday morning, bringing heavy rain to Memphis, Nashville and Paducah, Kentucky.
Francine 295 miles from Louisiana coast
Hurricane Francine is expected to make landfall southwest of New Orleans as a Category 1 hurricane on Wednesday afternoon.
As of early Wednesday, Francine was 295 miles southwest of Morgan City, Louisiana, heading northeast at 10 mph.
Data collected by Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicated that the storm strengthened in the early hours of Wednesday, with maximum sustained winds close to 85 mph — up from 75 mph on Tuesday night.
New Orleans under Hurricane Watch
Emergency officials in New Orleans, Louisiana, warned residents on Tuesday that they should be prepared to shelter in place as Hurricane Francine approached landfall.
A Tropical Storm Warning and Hurricane Watch were issued for areas along the southern Louisiana coast, including New Orleans. A Flood Watch was also issued in Orleans Parish through Thursday morning, the city said.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell signed an emergency proclamation.
“The storm track has shifted more towards the east, which has the potential to worsen impacts for the city, but the storm remains disorganized,” the city said in a statement.
(LOS ANGELES) — After hours of legal wrangling on Thursday, Hunter Biden agreed to plead guilty to nine tax-related charges in a last-ditch bid to avoid a lengthy and potentially embarrassing trial in Los Angeles.
The president’s son initially offered a so-called “Alford plea,” in which he would agree to a guilty plea on the counts but maintain his innocence on the underlying conduct of the charges. But when prosecutors opposed that path – and U.S. Judge Mark Scarsi expressed some hesitation in granting it – attorneys for Hunter Biden said he would enter a traditional guilty plea.
“Mr. Biden is prepared to proceed today and finish this,” Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Hunter Biden, said Thursday afternoon in court.
Wise had accused Hunter Biden of seeking special treatment with the proposed Alford plea.
Prosecutors alleged that Hunter Biden had engaged in a four-year scheme to avoid paying $1.4 million in taxes while spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on exotic cars, clothing, escorts, drugs, and luxury hotels. He had originally pleaded not guilty to a nine-count indictment that includes six misdemeanor charges of failure to pay, plus a felony tax evasion charge and two felony charges of filing false returns.
All back taxes and penalties were eventually paid in full by a third party, identified by ABC News as Hunter Biden confidant Kevin Morris.
Thursday’s court appearance comes three months after Hunter Biden was convicted by a Delaware jury on three felony charges related to his purchase of a firearm in 2018 while allegedly addicted to drugs. His sentencing in that case is scheduled for Nov. 13.
What did prosecutors allege?
In their 56-page indictment, prosecutors alleged that Hunter Biden willfully avoided paying taxes by subverting his company’s own payroll system, that he failed to pay his taxes on time despite having the money to do so, and that he included false information in his 2018 tax returns.
“[T]he defendant spent this money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes,” the indictment alleged.
Prosecutors also highlighted millions of dollars that Hunter Biden received from overseas business in Ukraine, China, and Romania in exchange for “almost no work.”
Although Hunter Biden eventually paid back all his back taxes and penalties with the help of a third party, Judge Scarsi blocked defense attorneys from introducing that information to the jury.
“Evidence of late payment here is irrelevant to Mr. Biden’s state of mind at the time he allegedly committed the charged crimes,” Scarsi wrote in an order last week.
Last June, Hunter Biden agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor offenses, acknowledging that he failed to pay taxes on income he received in 2017 and 2018. The deal also allowed him to enter into a pretrial diversion agreement to avoid criminal charges related to his 2018 firearm purchase.
Had the deal worked out, Hunter Biden would have likely faced probation for the tax offenses and had his gun charge dropped if he adhered to the terms of his diversion agreement.
However, the plea deal fell apart during a contentious hearing before U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who took issue with the structure of the deal.
By September, the special counsel had unsealed an indictment in Delaware charging Hunter Biden for lying on a federal form when he purchased a firearm in 2018.
The federal indictment in Los Angeles for the tax crimes followed in December.
ABC News’ Olivia Rubin contributed to this report.