[FoxNews liveblog] AUTHORITIES RELEASE MUGSHOT OF FATHER OF ALLEGED TEEN SHOOTER
Georgia authorities released a mugshot of the father of the teen who allegedly killed four people at a high school.
Colin Gray, 54, faces multiple charges over the alleged actions of his son, Colt Gray, 14, including four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children.
On Thursday, authorities said the elder Gray knowingly allowed his son to possess a weapon.
He is being held at the Barrow County jail.
CHARGES AGAINST FATHER OF ALLEGED SCHOOL SHOOTER A NEW APPROACH TO CURBING SIMILAR INCIDENTS: LAWYER
The charges against the father of the suspected shooter accused of killing four people at a Georgia high is an example of a new approach by authorities to curb similar incidents, a legal expert told Fox News Digital.
Colin Gray, 54, has been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children. On Thursday, authorities said the charges are connected to the possession of a weapon by Gray's son, Colt Gray, who allegedly killed two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School and wounded nine others.
“This was done by authorities in Michigan who successfully prosecuted the parents of a teen who killed four students using a firearm his parents purchased for him,” said David Gelman, a criminal defense attorney and former deputy district attorney.
Jennifer and James Crumbley were convicted in April of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced 10 years in prison after prosecutors said they kept an unsecured gun at home and showed indifference toward their son's mental health. Ethan Crumbley killed four students at a high school in 2021.
Colin Gray's case is different because he also faces murder charges, said Gelman.
“The charge of murder may be challenging to prove as this charge contemplates malice aforethought, as opposed to involuntary manslaughter which does not require a specific intention to cause death,” he said.
GEORGIA OFFICERS INTERVIEWED APALACHEE HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING SUSPECT IN 2023, COULD NOT SUBSTANTIATE
Jackson County, Georgia, officers in 2023 spoke face-to-face with the boy who is now charged with felony murder in the deaths of four at Apalachee High School in Winder on Wednesday.
The sheriff's officers described their interactions in a detailed investigation report from May 21, 2023, when suspect Colt Gray was 13 years old, after being tipped off by the FBI about a threat on the messaging app Discord of a threat to shoot up a middle school. Discord is popular with some video gamers.
Gray said he had previously deleted a Discord account and denied that he would make such a threat, "even in a joking manner," according to the report.
Gray's father, Colin, told the officers that he had hunting rifles in the house but that his son "does not have unfettered access to them." The two guns were both "locked away," the father told them. Authorities have said the shooting was carried out with an AR-style rifle.
Jackson County investigators could not substantiate the Discord threat, which came from a user profile that spelled Lanza in Russian, according to the report. Adam Lanza perpetrated the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012.
The officer also found that the information sent to the FBI was communicated via various IP addresses across the world: Palmdale, California; Los Angeles; and Cockburn, Australia.
He also reviewed the email address and phone number related to the case as well as the user profile linked to the threats.
AUTHORITIES RELEASE FIRST MUGSHOTS OF ALLEGED GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTER
APALACHEE HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING SUSPECT CHARGED WITH FELONY MURDER AHEAD OF FIRST COURT APPEARANCE
Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray has been charged with multiple counts of felony murder ahead of his first court appearance Friday, officials say.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says "the autopsies of the four victims" who were killed in the Apalachee High School shooting "will be performed today at the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office."
"The investigation into the shooting at Apalachee High School is still active and ongoing," it added. "This is day 2 of a very complex investigation and the integrity of the case is paramount. We ask for the public’s patience as we work to ensure a successful prosecution and justice for the victims."
Gray's court appearance is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. tomorrow.
FBI SAYS LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT INVESTIGATED GA SHOOTER IN 2023, FOUND NO PROBABLE CAUSE
Local law enforcement officers with the sheriff's department conducted a deeper investigation and interviewed the father of the suspect, documented in a report that could not substantiate the threats.
During the investigation, the suspect "expressed concern that someone is accusing him of threatening to shoot up a school, stating that he would never say such a thing, even in a joking manner," according to a report from the interviews.
The officer investigating the anonymous tips found that the information sent to the FBI was communicated via various IP addresses across the world: Palmdale, California; Los Angeles, California; and Cockburn, Australia. He also reviewed the email address and phone number related to the case — as well as the user profile linked to the threats.
The profile name, written in Russian, referenced the perpetrator of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.
"[The Apalachee suspect] stated he stopped using Discord because too many people kept hacking his account, and he was afraid someone would use his information for nefarious purposes," according to the report.
GEORGIA INVESTIGATORS SAY SUSPECTED SHOOTER'S PARENTS 'HAVE BEEN COOPERATIVE UP UNTIL THIS POINT'
A spokesperson for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation tells Fox News Digital that the parents of suspected Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray "have been cooperative up until this point."
The comment came in response to a question regarding whether authorities are investigating Gray's parents in the wake of Wednesday's attack, which left four dead and nine others injured. 
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