The father of the 14-year-old boy, who was charged Thursday with the murder of four people at his high school in the southeastern United States the day before, has been arrested by authorities, according to the Georgia State Bureau of Investigation.
• Also read: Alleged 14-year-old Georgia school shooter reportedly under FBI surveillance for a year
• Also read: Georgia school shooting: Here’s what we know about the four victims
Colin Gray, 54, faces four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of child cruelty.
Getty Images via AFP
His son Colt Gray is accused of killing two teachers and two 14-year-olds (students, like him) at Apalachee High School in Winder, about 45 miles northeast of Atlanta.
The Georgia State Bureau of Investigation, which said he would be tried as an adult, said he would be arraigned in court Friday.
Getty Images via AFP
“The investigation into the Apalachee High School shooting is ongoing,” the office said on X. “We are on day two of a very complex investigation and due process is paramount,” it added, noting that autopsies of the victims were scheduled for Thursday.
- “Parents are becoming increasingly stupid”:
didn’t mince his words this morning! Listen to him react to this disturbing news via Q
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Such tragedies are recurrent in the United States, where there are more guns than people and where regulations on the purchase of weapons, including military-type weapons, are relatively lax.
According to CNN on Thursday, citing anonymous sources, the weapon used Wednesday was an AR-15 assault rifle – a name often found in such dramas – and had been given by the teenager’s father as a gift to his son.
The question of the responsibility of the parents of minor perpetrators is increasingly pressing.
“How can you have an assault rifle in your home, not locked up, and know that your child knows where it is,” President Joe Biden asked Thursday. “We need to hold parents accountable who allow their children to have access to these weapons.”
In April, the parents of a teenager who killed four students at his Michigan high school were sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison, a first in the United States.
Polls show that a majority of voters support tighter controls on gun purchases and use, something opposed by the powerful gun lobby, the NRA.
