Georgia high school shooting suspect makes first court appearance
Booking photo of Apalachee High School shooting suspect, Colt Gray, released by the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office. — Barrow County Sheriff’s Office
(WINDER, Ga.) — Colt Gray, the 14-year-old accused of opening fire at his Georgia high school, made his first court appearance on Friday, where the judge informed him of the charges against him and ordered him held without bond.
Gray is charged with four counts of felony murder for allegedly shooting and killing two teachers and two students at Apalachee High School on Wednesday.
Another seven students and two teachers were injured. All of the injured victims are expected to make full recoveries, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said.
More charges against Gray are expected, the GBI said.
The 14-year-old will be tried as an adult, authorities said.
A motive has not yet been determined and it is unknown if the victims were targeted, investigators said.
Gray’s aunt, Annie Brown, said her nephew was “begging for help from everybody around him.”
Investigators believe that Gray received the AR-style gun used in the shooting as a Christmas present from his father, according to sources.
The teen’s father, Colin Gray, 54, was arrested Thursday and charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, the GBI said.
Colin Gray is accused of “knowingly allowing his son, Colt, to possess a weapon,” GBI Director Chris Hosey said Thursday.
Colin Gray is also expected to appear in court on Friday.
(FRESNO, Calif.) — A Central California police sergeant was in a hospital recovering from bullet wounds Monday after he was “ambushed” over the weekend by a gunman who was killed in a subsequent shoot-out and later linked to a homicide victim found inside a residence, authorities said.
The shooting unfolded on Saturday in Fresno after the sergeant and two patrol officers were dispatched to investigate a ShotSpotter gunshot detection call at about 5:23 p.m., according to Fresno Interim Police Chief Mindy Castro.
Castro said the sergeant, a 21-year veteran of the Fresno Police Department, and the other officers had spent about an hour searching for evidence of a shooting in the neighborhood east of downtown Fresno when the ambush occurred. She said the suspect wielding an AR-style pistol drove by in a car and, without warning, opened fire on the sergeant who at the time was sitting in a parked patrol vehicle working on his computer.
“A Fresno police sergeant was ambushed here tonight,” Castro said as she began a news conference near the shooting scene.
Castro said two other officers were standing in the street searching for shell casings when gunfire erupted.
“The sergeant was in his car when the suspect returned completely unexpectedly and began firing shots at the sergeant,” said Castro, adding that the sergeant’s patrol car was riddled with bullets.
Castro said the sergeant, whose name was not released, suffered bullet wounds to his lower extremities.
The gunman, whose name was also not released, attempted to flee the scene, but crashed about a block away, Castro said.
Despite being wounded, the sergeant and the other officers chased the suspect and ended up in a shoot-out with him after the gunman got out of his wrecked car and opened fire on the officers, Castro said.
A Ring doorbell camera video from a residence obtained by ABC Fresno station KFSN captured what sounded like a dozen shots fired in the incident.
Castro said that after the suspect was shot and fell to the ground, the injured sergeant collapsed and radioed for an ambulance for them both.
The suspect was later pronounced dead at a hospital, Castro said.
A statement posted on the police department’s Facebook page Sunday evening said the sergeant remained in the hospital in stable condition.
Castro said she viewed the sergeant’s body camera video and described the sergeant’s and the other officers’ actions in engaging the suspect as a “picture of courageousness and calm.”
Before the gunfight, police obtained surveillance video that captured the suspect holding a gun as he exited a house near the shooting scene and got into a car matching the one involved in the ambush, Castro said.
Following the shooting, officers went to the house seen in the security video, forced their way in and discovered a homicide victim inside, Castro said.
Castro said it remains under investigation whether the ShotSpotter activation that initially drew the officers to the scene was caused by the shooting inside the residence.
“We’re still working to investigate that crime as well as the ambush shooting of one of our officers,” Castro said.
The identity of the homicide victim was pending an autopsy.
(OMAHA, Neb.) — A 15-year-old boy is in critical condition after he was shot at his high school in Omaha, Nebraska, on Tuesday, police said.
The shooting inside Northwest High School was reported at about 12:23 p.m., and a description of the suspect was put out over the radio, Omaha police said. The suspect was taken into custody around 12:58 p.m., police said.
The shooting appeared to stem from an incident between two students, police said.
(GETTYSBURG, Penn.) — A Gettysburg College swimmer is no longer enrolled at the school after allegedly carving a racial slur on his teammate’s chest at an on-campus residence during an informal social gathering, according to school officials.
The student, who has not been named by the college or authorities, allegedly used a box cutter to scratch the n-word on another Gettysburg College swimmer, according to a statement from the victim’s family published in the school’s newspaper. The family said it decided to come forward to “add clarity, not stir controversy as we struggle to comprehend the nightmare that haunts our son and our family.”
“For the sake of our son’s well-being, we are attempting to address the recent challenges by mirroring our son’s spirit of humility and courage,” the family said in the statement. “Our son did not choose to have a hateful racial slur scrawled across his chest, but he has chosen not to return the hate. He did not choose the color of his skin tone, but has chosen to embrace the strength and diversity it represents. Our son did not choose to be shunned and isolated at the behest of some who pay lip service to inclusion and diversity.”
The two students allegedly involved were initially removed from swim team activities while the college investigated the incident, according to Jamie Yates, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer at Gettysburg College.
“The student who did the scratching is no longer enrolled at the College,” Yates told ABC News in a statement. “The college is working with the other student and his family about how to most constructively move forward.”
Gettysburg Police Department Chief Robert Glenny Jr. told ABC News that the department has not received a complaint regarding the incident.
Glenny Jr. said the department reached out to the college campus safety upon learning of the incident, but were told while the victim was “encouraged” by the college to contact law enforcement, “the victim had chosen not to and to let the college disciplinary process handle this matter.”
The school newspaper, The Gettysburgian, published a statement on Friday from the family of the student who had the slur allegedly cut into his chest, saying the incident happened two weeks ago at a men’s swim team social gathering in which the victim was the only person of color present. According to the family, the scratching had been done by someone the victim “trusted” and considered a friend.
According to the newspaper, it published a statement from the victim’s family anonymously in order to protect the identity of the victim.
“Two weeks ago on the evening of Friday, Sept. 6, our son became the victim of a hate crime,” the family wrote in the statement published in The Gettysburgian.
In what Gettysburg College called a joint statement with the complainant’s family, the college said they “had previously made a commitment to the family that once the investigation was nearing its completion, we would work with them about how most constructively to move forward.”
“Those conversations have already begun and will continue. Both parties understand that this process will take time and are committed to working together,” Gettysburg College said in a statement.
The NAACP Greater Harrisburg Chapter confirmed to ABC News it is aware of the incident and the NAACP PA State Conference has been informed.
While the NAACP Greater Harrisburg Chapter said it is not commenting as the family and school continue working through the investigation, President Franklin E. Allen said in a statement that “it is just the beginning of the school year, and no one should fear being in college.”
In the joint statement released by Gettysburg College, the family said they wanted to reiterate that they are aware they retain the right to pursue local, state and federal criminal charges.
“The College and the family both recognize the gravity and seriousness of this situation and hope it can serve as a transformative moment for our community and beyond,” the statement also said.
ABC News’ Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
