Georgia school shooting suspect’s mom says son texted her that morning, saying, ‘I’m sorry’
Megan Varner/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — The mother of Colt Gray, the 14-year-old suspected of opening fire at his Georgia high school, said she last heard from her son the morning of the shooting when he texted her, “I’m sorry, Mom.”
“His dad had actually gotten texts from him that basically said the same thing already that morning, about 15 minutes prior,” Marcee Gray told ABC News. “One said, ‘I’m sorry,’ and one said, ‘You’re not to blame for this.'”
Marcee Gray said she was “petrified” by the texts to her husband and called the school, and that’s when she received the “I’m sorry, Mom,” message.
“My concern for him had been building,” she said.
Marcee Gray said she’d called her son’s school six days earlier because “I wanted Colt to be admitted to an impatient treatment. … Colt was on board with it.”
Colt Gray is accused of killing two students and two teachers, and injuring nine others, at Apalachee High School on Wednesday.
Marcee Gray said when she first heard about the shooting, she “fell to the ground and just started screaming. … I knew what had happened, I just knew in my gut.”
Nearly one week later, she said her feelings range from “debilitating anxiety” to “guilt” to “disgust.”
“I still can’t believe it happened,” she said.
Marcee Gray said she wants the victims’ families to know “how horrible I feel.”
“What happened to them and their sweet, innocent babies is just unfathomable,” she said. “If I could take their place, I would. I would in a heartbeat.”
Marcee Gray said if she had the chance to talk to her son now, she’d tell him, “I love him,” and, “It’s not your fault.” She did not say who she places the blame on.
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, Colt, to possess a weapon,” GBI Director Chris Hosey said.
Investigators believe Colt Gray received the AR-style gun used in the shooting as a Christmas present from his father, according to sources.
“I knew that my husband had numerous guns, but I didn’t know that one was a specific Christmas present,” Marcee Gray said. “It wasn’t until after the shooting that I knew it was specifically Colt’s gun. … I was shocked.”
The father and son both made their first court appearances on Friday. Neither has entered a plea and both are set to return to court on Dec. 4.
(SEATTLE) — A man has been arrested after he allegedly carjacked an 80-year-old dog walker, leaving her with fatal injuries before stabbing her dog to death, according to police.
James K. Hayes, a 48-year-old Seattle resident, was found and arrested Thursday morning in the murder of 80-year-old Ruth Dalton.
Police expect he will be charged with first-degree murder, murder during the commission of a robbery and first-degree animal cruelty. He has eight prior felony convictions — including a vehicular homicide conviction from 1993 — and a history of mental health concerns.
Police said he had a knife on him with blood on it when he was arrested.
Police were able to identify the suspect after they received a 911 call reporting that an individual was hurting a dog. An animal control officer then responded to the scene and found a dog that was stabbed to death. The dog was wearing a tag identifying the victim as its owner and the victim’s car was found nearby.
Crime scene investigators were able to lift fingerprints from the victim’s phone, which was in the car, and identify the suspect.
Seattle Police responded to a report of a carjacking on Wednesday and found a citizen giving aid to a woman who was down on the road.
Officers took over life-saving efforts until Seattle Fire Department officials showed up and took over. The victim died of her injuries Wednesday, police said.
Witnesses then told investigators that they had seen a struggle between the woman and the suspect inside the vehicle while the vehicle was moving. The vehicle then drove off the road and a struggle between them continued with the suspect trying to push the victim out of the vehicle as she resisted, according to police.
A witness then stopped their car in the road and came to assist her and the suspect took out a knife. The witness then backed away and retrieved a stick or bat and came back to try and help the woman, according to police.
The car then began to move across the road and crashed into two parked vehicles and the woman was struck during the crash. The suspect drove away from the scene and the victim was left on the street.
Police believe the suspect then drove to a park, stabbed the dog and fled on foot.
“We want to thank the community for the heroic actions of passers-by who just happened to see something like this happening and tried to intervene,” Eric Barden, the deputy chief of the Seattle Police Department said during a press conference.
Police said they are unsure how the suspect got into the car before the carjacking and said that is under investigation. Police do not believe the suspect and the victim knew each other — they think it is a random incident.
There were at least two dogs in the car, one of which escaped the car.
“This is a tragic and horrific incident where a wonderful member of our community was active and participating vibrantly in her community at 80 years old and that was snatched from her and from her family and friends and the community by virtue of this senseless violent act,” Barden said.
(NEW YORK) — Two burglars swiped memorabilia from St. John’s University men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino’s office on the New York City campus, according to police.
Items including a basketball and bullhorn were taken during the break-in Tuesday evening in Queens, according to police.
The suspects fled on a moped, the NYPD said.
The unidentified suspects remain at large. Both were captured in footage from a university camera that was released by police. One appeared to be holding a bullhorn and the other a small sword in the footage.
Pitino said on social media that he was “really upset” about the burglary and was “livid” over the theft of a vintage bottle of wine — a 1985 6L Petrus Pomerol, which sells for tens of thousands of dollars on some collectible wine sites — though later clarified that he was joking.
“I would never keep that on my desk! Saving that one in a wine cellar to open after the Johnnies go to the final four!” he said on X.
The incident occurred at approximately 8 p.m. Tuesday, according to St. John’s spokesperson Brian Browne.
“Property was stolen from an office in the Athletics Department,” Browne said in a statement. “The University shared surveillance footage with the NYPD and is assisting in the ongoing investigation.”
Pitino has served as the coach of the Big East team since 2023. He gained stardom coaching at the University of Kentucky, winning a national title in 1996.
He had short stints with the NBA’s Boston Celtics and New York Knicks before returning to college at the University of Louisville. He coached the Cardinals from 2001 to 2017 and won the national title in 2013, though it was later vacated for NCAA violations.
He was also inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect that Pitino says he was joking about the wine being stolen.
(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — A former officer who pleaded guilty to charges connected to the death of Tyre Nichols became emotional during his testimony Tuesday in the federal trial of three ex-Memphis police officers charged in connection with the January 2023 beating death of Nichols.
“I wish I would’ve stopped the punches. It hurts to watch. It hurts inside so much,” said Desmond Mills Jr., who cried during his testimony, according to WATN, the ABC affiliate in Memphis covering the case in the courtroom. “It felt bad every time the picture is on the screen to know I’m a part of that. I made his child fatherless. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I know ‘sorry’ won’t bring him back, but I pray his child has everything he needs growing up.”
Mills struggled to speak after watching body camera video in court of Nichols being struck, according to WATN. Mills admitted to using his baton to hit Nichols three times.
“I was angry because I just [pepper] sprayed myself in the face,” Mills said, according to WATN. “I didn’t give him a chance to give me his hands.”
Justin Smith, Demetrius Haley and Tadarrius Bean were charged on Sept. 12, 2023, with violating Nichols’ civil rights through excessive use of force, unlawful assault, failing to intervene in the assault and failing to render medical aid. These charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The officers have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Mills and Emmitt Martin III, the two other officers who were also charged in this case, have pleaded guilty to some of the federal charges.
Mills pleaded guilty to two of the four counts in the indictment — excessive force and failing to intervene, as well as conspiring to cover up his use of unlawful force, according to the DOJ. The government said it will recommend a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, based on the terms of Mills’ plea agreement.
Martin pleaded guilty to excessive force and failure to intervene, as well as conspiracy to witness tamper, according to court records. The other two charges will be dropped at sentencing, which has been scheduled for Dec. 5, according to the court records.
When Mills was asked by the prosecution what threat Nichols posed during the officers’ encounter with Nichols as shown in the court through body camera footage, the ex-officer answered, “None,” according to WATN.
Mills claimed that he wanted to leave the Memphis Police Department (MPD) by the time Bean joined the SCORPION unit, the MPD’s former crime suppression unit, which has since been disbanded, because he didn’t like the structure of the team, his former colleagues were inexperienced and the culture of the team was “go, go, go,” according to WATN.
“I just pulled the spray out and I sprayed Mr. Nichols,” Mills, who claimed Smith and Bean were already punching Nichols when he arrived on scene, said, according to WATN. “I failed to assess and analyze … just started spraying.”
Mills could be heard on body camera footage played in the court threatening to pepper-spray Nichols as the Memphis resident called out for his mother, according to WATN.
“I thought it would help and get handcuffs on him,” Mills said, according to WATN.
Mills said Martin and Haley were hostile toward citizens and he didn’t like what he saw, according to WATN. The ex-officer claimed their aggressive approaches resulted in them filing several response to resistance forms, which officers are required to fill out to explain their use of force while on the job.
Mills claimed Haley would come to work “amped up” from his pre-workouts, according to WATN. He said he talked to Haley about his inconsistent use of his body camera video, to which Haley allegedly told him, “F— that sh–.”
Mills said that Haley kicked a handcuffed suspect in the face the day before the Nichols’ encounter and didn’t report it, according to WATN.
“I was going to go along and hide it with the rest of the team,” said Mills, who also didn’t report Haley’s use of force, according to WATN.
The response to resistance form lists Mills as using chemical spray, but not Haley kicking the suspect, according to WATN.
Mills claimed Smith, who’s also on trial, told the unit that they needed to check on Martin’s mental state after he returned to work after being hit by a car on the job, according to WATN.
In court testimony last week, Martin, who was the first to spot Nichols, claimed that he was hit by a car in November 2022 and returned to work Jan. 3, 2023, according to WATN. Martin said he was scared, angry, eager to show he could still do the job and wanted revenge for being struck by a vehicle.
“I wanted some kind of revenge. I was seeing red,” Martin said, according to WATN
Body-camera footage shows that Nichols fled after police pulled him over on Jan. 7, 2023, for allegedly driving recklessly, then shocked him with a Taser and pepper-sprayed him.
Officers allegedly then beat Nichols minutes later after tracking him down. After the police encounter, Nichols was transferred to the hospital in critical condition.
Nichols, 29, died in the hospital on Jan. 10, 2023. Footage shows the officers walking around, talking to each other as Nichols was injured and sitting on the ground.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said she has been unable to substantiate that Nichols was driving recklessly. The incident triggered protests and calls for police reform.
The prosecution told ABC News earlier this month that they will not have any statements until after the trial. The defense attorneys did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
After the police encounter, Nichols was transferred to the hospital in critical condition. The medical examiner’s official autopsy report for Nichols showed he “died of brain injuries from blunt force trauma,” the district attorney’s office told Nichols’ family in May 2023.
The five former officers charged in this case were all members of the Memphis Police Department SCORPION unit — a crime suppression unit that was disbanded after Nichols’ death. All of the officers were fired for violating MPD policies.
“It was ugly,” Mills said when asked by the prosecution why he didn’t tell his supervisor the truth about the Nichols encounter, according to WATN. “So, we didn’t tell lieutenant.”
ABC News’ Deena Zaru and Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
