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Father of alleged Georgia shooter says son was bullied at school, called ‘gay’ by classmates: ‘Very difficult’
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Father of alleged Georgia shooter says son was bullied at school, called ‘gay’ by classmates: ‘Very difficult’

The father of alleged Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray said his son was called “gay” by classmates in 2023 interview transcripts recently released by police.

Colin Gray, 54, has been charged in connection with Wednesday’s school shooting that left two students and two adults dead in Georgia. Colt Gray, 14, is being tried as an adult in the shooting that left four others dead and nine wounded.

Georgia school shooting: New audio of alleged meeting between shooter and father and police about online threats in 2023

According to father Colin Gray, in recently released transcripts of police interviews, “(Colt) has been through a lot.”

“(Colt) just wants us to have a simple life. All that stuff, he should be excited about going into 8th grade. It was just really hard for him to go to school and not be bullied by, you know, it went from one thing to another to, you know, him talking to the few friends he had,” Gray said.

Colt Gray, charged as an adult with four murders, leaves the Barrow County courthouse

Colt Gray, who has been charged as an adult with four counts of murder, leaves the Barrow County courthouse after his initial appearance for the Apalachee High School shooting on Friday, September 6, 2024, in Winder, Georgia. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, Pool)

In the phone call, conducted in 2023 by researcher Dan Miller, 14-year-old Colt played the role of someone who was bullied and “mocked” by classmates at Apalachee High School.

WHO IS THE ALLEGED GEORGIA SCHOOL SHOOTER? WHAT WE KNOW

“I tried to get him on the golf team… like, ‘Oh look Colt’s gay. He’s dating that guy.’ I made fun of him day in and day out.”

Georgia is one of 42 states in the country that holds parents criminally liable on behalf of their children.

Colin Gray sits in the Barrow County Courthouse

Colin Gray, 54, the father of Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray, 14, sits in court for the first time at the Barrow County Courthouse, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Winder, Georgia. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Authorities alleged that Colin knew his son Colt had access to his firearms in the household and had allowed them to do so prior to Wednesday’s shooting. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office had visited the Gray household multiple times and identified the 14-year-old as a suspect in the lead-up to the Apalachee High shooting.

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Colin is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Gray is being held in the Barrow County Jail.