ATLANTA — The shooting at Apalachee High School forever changed CHEE nation.
On Sept. 4, authorities said 14-year-old Colt Gray asked to be excused from his class, walked to a bathroom where he would later reemerge from and carry out one of the deadliest school shootings to ever happen in Georgia.
“Now we’re in the stage of ‘Why?’" explained Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith. "We may not ever know why."
Sheriff Smith said he knows one thing.
"Colt Gray didn't give that school a chance to love on him," he said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said Colt Gray enrolled at the high school on August 14.
It would be three weeks later to the day; Sheriff Smith said Colt Gray’s mom called the high school—the same morning of the shooting.
“I’m not aware of her saying he is going to do this, or he planned this, but there were some messages back and forth,” Sheriff Smith explained.
Marcee Gray has said that her son allegedly texted her and his dad that Wednesday morning, “I’m sorry” and “You’re not to blame for this.”
“She did call; she did speak to someone in the school, and we were actively looking for him,” said Sherif Smith.
The student population at Apalachee High School is roughly 2,000 students.
Sheriff Smith explained, “The eerie coincidence to this is that Colt Gray is sitting in class next to another student by almost identically the same name.”
This morning, neither of the Grays was in the classroom.
Sheriff Smith confirmed to 11Alive that sometime during the nine o’clock hour, Colt Gray asked to be excused from class to see the counselor. At this time, the Barrow County School Resource Officers were notified to start looking for Colt; they weren’t aware he’d left yet.
“When we go to the classroom, they (SROs) said, where’s Colt Gray at? Well, he’s not here. He went to the bathroom,” Sheriff Smith said.
He explained that the student with almost the same name was the one the students in the classroom thought the SROs were looking for at the time. Keep in mind that Colt Gray had just been enrolled three weeks prior, and the GBI said he’d already missed nine days of school.
The sheriff said Colt Gray had only started school a few days before the shooting, so not many people were familiar with him.
Sheriff Smith said the SROs left the classroom and went to the bathroom, where they met the other Gray with a similar name.
“He comes out. What can I do to help you?” Sheriff Smith said.
He added, “He (student with a similar name) complies; we go up front, and as we’re trying to figure out what’s going on, the shooting starts.”
Sheriff Smith said the shooting lasted less than a minute. The SROs confronted Colt Gray in the hallway, at which time Sheriff Smith said Colt surrendered to the deputies and was taken into custody.
Hours after the shooting, 11Alive was outside Colt Gray’s home, where he lived with his dad, Colin Gray and his two younger siblings. Multiple agencies were on the scene for hours, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Sheriff Smith said "quite a bit" of evidence was collected from the home.
And on Thursday, the GBI announced the arrest of Colin Gray. Many were quite surprised when it was announced his charges included second-degree murder.
Sheriff Smith confirmed Colin legally purchased the firearm Colt Gray used in the school shooting.
He said while he wholeheartedly supports the Second Amendment, he also believes in being a responsible gun owner.
Sheriff Smith said Colin did not have his firearms secured inside the home he shared with Colt Gray and his younger children.
“I think his (Colin) actions of leaving that firearm available to Colt Gray is why we are here today,” Sheriff Smith said.
The sheriff applauded his district attorney for pursuing the charges he feels should be applied in this case.
“I’m adamant, and I know we’re in uncharted waters in a lot of things, but I applaud our DA,” he said.
As for the reaction by the public, Sheriff Smith said, “I’m not trying to send a message, not trying to send a message at all, but trying to send a sense of responsibility to gun owners,”
11Alive asked the sheriff if Colt had told them why he allegedly carried out the shooting.
The sheriff replied, “Based on my guys, not really, not really.” He said, “We may never know.”