Georgia school shooting suspect kept gun in backpack, hid in bathroom before attack: GBI
Jessica McGowan/Getty Images
(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.
(LONDON, Ky.) — An AR-15 rifle investigators believe was used in a Kentucky freeway shooting Saturday evening that left seven people injured and nine vehicles with bullet holes was found Sunday afternoon near the crime scene as a search for a person of interest continued, authorities said.
The person of interest wanted for questioning was identified as 32-year-old Joseph A. Couch, who the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office said is “considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.”
The sheriff’s office released a photo of Couch, who allegedly fled the freeway shooting near London, Kentucky, and is believed to still be in the area, Laurel County Sheriff’s Deputy Gilbert Acciardo said during a news conference Sunday morning.
“We’re not listing him as a suspect at this point, but he probably will more than likely be a suspect before day’s end,” Acciardo said.
On Sunday afternoon, Acciardo said Couch’s vehicle was located in the area of the shootings Saturday night. He also said officers searching the area found an AR-15 rifle in the woods near the interstate.
The weapon, which investigators believe was used in the freeway shooting, was discovered in an area where a shooter could have “shot down upon the interstate from that wooded location,” Acciardo said.
“It’s a random act,” Acciardo said when asked about a possible motive for the shooting.
Police have received more than 100 calls from people reporting they may have spotted Couch, Acciardo said. He said authorities believe Couch is hiding in the woods near the interstate.
Acciardo described the shooting as “sniper-like” and said it was not the result of road rage. He said investigators do not believe the shooter knew any of the victims or had contact with them before the shooting.
Acciardo said that up to 60 members of law enforcement searched the area of the shooting until 3 a.m. Sunday before halting the search out of safety concerns, saying it was pitch black on the highway and describing the terrain where the search was being conducted as very rugged.
The search for Couch resumed at 9 a.m. local time Sunday, Acciardo said.
The FBI, the U.S. Marshal’s Service and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting local authorities in the investigation, officials said.
The shooting unfolded about 5:30 p.m. local time on Interstate 75, near exit 49 about eight miles north of London, officials said.
Arriving deputies found nine vehicles had been shot in both the north and southbound lanes of I-75, Laurel County Sheriff John Root said at a news conference late Saturday night.
Root said deputies found five people with serious gunshot wounds, including one who was shot in the face. He said one vehicle contained two people who were shot.
Acciardo said Sunday that none of the victims suffered life-threatening injuries and were all in stable condition.
“A couple of our deputies, because of the severity of the injuries, loaded the people up, the injured persons, and transported them to London Hospital,” Root said.
Two additional people were injured in a car crash that occurred during the shooting, authorities said.
Root said I-75 was immediately shut down in both directions, saying that at the time, deputies didn’t know where the bullets came from.
“We couldn’t risk somebody else being shot,” Root said.
The sheriff declined to say why Couch is a person of interest in the shooting but did say it is “based on our investigation at the scene.”
He said initial reports that the shooting stemmed from a road rage incident were not accurate.
Root said Couch has an address in Woodbine, Kentucky, and the sheriff’s office described him as about 5-foot-10-inches tall and 154 pounds.
Interstate 75 was closed for more than three hours after the shooting as law enforcement officers worked to secure the scene and collect evidence.
Root did not immediately disclose the type of weapon investigators believe was used in the crime.
A motive for the shooting remained under investigation.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in a statement on X that he is monitoring the situation.
In an interview Sunday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Christina Dinoto said she was driving with a friend southbound on I-75, heading to Tennessee, when the shooting erupted.
“All of a sudden we just heard this loud, deafening sound,” Dinoto said. “And my ear, my right ear, started ringing, and we didn’t know what the sound was, but we both looked at each other and said, was that a gunshot?”
Dinoto said that when she pulled off the interstate in Knoxville, she discovered damage to her vehicle that she suspects was caused by a bullet that may have ricocheted off another car.
The Kentucky shooting came less than a week after six people were injured in six shootings that occurred on Sept. 2 on Interstate 5 in the state of Washington between 8:26 p.m. and 11:01 p.m. local time, officials said. A suspect whose vehicle was sought in connection with several of the shootings was arrested in the Tacoma area on Sept. 3, police said.
Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban is stepping down, he and his attorneys confirmed.
Word of the resignation also came in a letter from Caban’s attorney to City Hall. The resignation is effective Friday.
His resignation comes amid a federal investigation into possible corruption in New York City government that last week saw authorities seize cellphones belonging to Caban and other NYPD officials, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
Caban’s attorneys, Russell Capone and Rebekah Donaleski, said in a statement that they have been informed that Caban is “not a target of any investigation being conducted by the Southern District of New York” and that he “expects to cooperate fully with the government.”
Caban also said he will “continue to fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation.”
“My complete focus must be on the NYPD — the Department I profoundly honor and have dedicated my career to serving,” Caban said in a statement. “However, the noise around recent developments has made that impossible and has hindered the important work our city requires. I have therefore decided it is in the best interest of the Department that I resign as Commissioner.”
In an email to the NYPD obtained by ABC News, Caban did not address the probe directly, only saying he made the “difficult decision to resign” amid “recent developments.”
“My complete focus has always been on the NYPD — the department and people I love and have dedicated over 30 years of service to. However, the news around recent developments has created a distraction for our department, and I am unwilling to let my attention be on anything other than our important work, or the safety of the men and women of the NYPD,” he said in the email. “I hold immense respect and gratitude for the brave officers who serve this department, and the NYPD deserves someone who can solely focus on protecting and serving New York City, which is why — for the good of this city and this department — I have made the difficult decision to resign as Police Commissioner.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said during remarks on Thursday that he accepted Caban’s resignation and has appointed former FBI agent and former New York Homeland Security Director Tom Donlon as interim commissioner.
“I respect his decision and I wish him well,” he said of Caban. “Commissioner Caban dedicated his life to making our city safe, and we saw a drop in crime for the 13 of the 14 months that he served as commissioner.”
Federal agents last week also searched the homes of Deputy Mayor Phil Banks, Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright and Schools Chancellor David Banks, according to sources. The FBI seized evidence, including electronics, as part of the searches, according to sources. No charges have been filed.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have declined to disclose details about what they are investigating, but sources said one focus involves city contracts and a second involves the enforcement of regulations governing bars and clubs.
Adams, who held the press briefing virtually after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this week, said during his remarks Thursday that he was “surprised” to learn of inquiries into his administration.
“I take them extremely seriously,” he said. “I’ve spent more than 20 years in law enforcement, and so every member of my administration knows my expectations that we must follow the law.”
The mayor’s chief counsel said last week that investigators had not indicated to them that the mayor or his staff are targets of any investigation.
Adams also insisted last week that he was aware of no “misdoings” by anyone in his administration and pledged cooperation with the ongoing investigation.
“I say over and over again, as a former member of law enforcement, I’m very clear. We follow the rules. We make sure that we cooperate and turn over any information that is needed and it just really would be inappropriate to get in the way of the review while it’s taking place,” Adams said in an interview with CBS New York on Sept. 5. “I am not aware of any misdoings and I’m going to, again, follow the rules and I will continue to tell the team to do that. And that’s what they have been doing, to my knowledge.”
Several high-ranking NYPD officials, including Caban, received subpoenas for their cellphones on Sept. 5, according to sources. The following day, investigators sought the phones of additional police officials, including precinct commanders in Manhattan, and interviewed police officials at a building next to police headquarters, sources said.
“The Department is aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York involving members of service. The Department is fully cooperating in the investigation,” an NYPD spokesman said on Sept. 5, referring additional questions to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which declined to comment.
Caban’s family has connections to nightlife. Richard Caban, the brother of Edward Caban and a former NYPD lieutenant, owned a now-shuttered Bronx restaurant, Con Sofrito. Edward Caban’s twin brother, James Caban, a former NYPD sergeant, owned a Bronx apartment building that once had a bar on the first floor named Twins.
Caban began his NYPD career in 1991, as a police officer in the Bronx. He rose through the ranks, becoming the NYPD’s first deputy commissioner in 2022.
Adams appointed him as commissioner in July 2023 after Keechant Sewell, the city’s first female commissioner, stepped down.
Following news of the subpoena, City Councilman Robert Holden called on Caban to step down.
“I do think he has to do something because it does cast a bad, deep shadow over the police department,” Holden said on CBS’ “The Point with Marcia Kramer” on Sunday.
“We have to have confidence that he’s staying within the law. He sets an example for the whole department,” Holden said.
(WASHINGTON) — Claiming superior leadership and casting himself as the true agent of change were keys to Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election, per ABC News exit poll results.
He also prevailed by a wide margin among the small group of so-called “double haters” — voters with an unfavorable opinion of both candidates.
In a list of four candidate qualities, 30% of voters nationally rated “has the ability to lead” as most important to their vote, and about as many, 28%, chose “can bring needed change.” Fewer picked “has good judgment” (20%) or “cares about people like me” (18%).
These choices were closely tied to candidate preferences. Among those who cited leadership ability as the top candidate attribute, Trump beat Kamala Harris by 2-1, 66-33%. On bringing about change, the gap widened to 3-1, 74-24%.
That huge gap on change reflects Harris’ difficulties distancing herself from the unpopular Biden administration, a dynamic covered in ABC News/Ipsos pre-election polling. Seventy-four percent of Americans said they wanted Harris, if elected, to take a new direction from President Joe Biden’s. Only 33% thought she would.
Harris pushed back with big leads among voters who picked judgment or empathy as most important — but there were fewer of them.
Taken another way, among Trump supporters, 41% chose “can bring needed change” as the most important candidate attribute in their vote and 40% chose leadership, totaling to eight in 10 of all his voters.
By contrast, about six in 10 Harris supporters chose judgment or caring as top qualities to them. Compared with Trump, half as many cited leadership and a third as many picked the ability to bring change.
Personal favorability was another factor.
In 2020, Biden was seen favorably by 52%, 6 percentage points above Trump’s 46%. This year, Harris ended up rated essentially as unfavorably as Trump — 47-52%, favorable-unfavorable, for Harris, and 46-53% for Trump. (This is a change from preliminary exit poll results, in which Trump was 11 points underwater in favorability, Harris just 2 points.)
Notably, Trump won the 8% of voters who rated both candidates unfavorably, by 26 points, 56-30%.
Look also at assessments of how extreme the candidates’ views were: 47% said Harris’ views were too extreme; 54% said that of Trump. But among those who said both were too extreme, again 8% of voters, Trump won by a broad 42 points, 63-21%.
