Father of Georgia shooting suspect told investigators he bought weapon for son as holiday gift after FBI probe

The father of the suspect in a school shooting in Georgia that killed four people on Wednesday reportedly bought his son a high-powered rifle late last year, a purchase which came months after police investigated the teen for potentially making online threats about shooting up a school.

Colin Gray, father of suspected Apalachee High School gunman Colt Gray, told investigators this week he bought the 14-year-old the AR 15-style rifle used in the fatal shooting as a Christmas present in December 2023, law enforcement sources told CNN.

In May of 2023, the FBI got a tip about online threats about a school shooting. They traced the threats to Georgia and forwarded information to the Jackson County Sheriffs’ Office, which interviewed the Gray family.

Colin Gray said he kept hunting guns in the house, but that Colt did not have unsupervised access to them. Colt, meanwhile, denied making the online threats.

Police notified local schools and no probable cause for an arrest was found at the time, according to the FBI.

During the time of the police interview, Gray’s parents were going through a divorce, in which the 14-year-old stayed with his father, while his mother took custody of two other children.

There is no minimum age requirement to possess a rifle under federal and state firearms law, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, but individuals must be 18or older to buy one under both sets of rules.

The military-style AR rifle is a high-powered weapon that has been used in security threats across the country, including the recent assassination attempt against Donald Trump, and in an estimated 10 of the 17 deadliest mass shootings since 2012.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.