The FBI has confirmed that the 14-year-old Georgia high school shooter has been monitored by the agency since 2023 after being flagged as a threat over online remarks.
The alleged shooter, Colt Gray, was a student at the Apalachee High School in Georgia.
The gunman opened fire at the Georgia high school on Wednesday, killing two students and two teachers and wounding nine others.
Gray was known to the FBI as early as May 2023 after the agency received “several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time.”
In a joint statement, the FBI’s Atlanta field office and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said the agency’s National Threat Operations Center was alerted to the threats posted online.
The agencies said that the threats contained images of guns.
Within 24 hours of receiving the anonymous tip, investigators determined the threats originated in Georgia.
The matter was then referred to the sheriff’s office.
In a statement, the FBI said:
“The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office located a possible subject, a 13-year-old male, and interviewed him and his father.
“The father stated he had hunting guns in the house, but the subject did not have unsupervised access to them.”
The agencies said the boy denied making the threats.
Nevertheless, authorities alerted local schools to monitor the teenager.
“At that time, there was no probable cause for arrest or to take any additional law enforcement action on the local, state, or federal levels,” the FBI said.
On Wednesday, authorities identified Colt Gray, now 14, as the shooter who killed four people at Apalachee High School.
Gray surrendered to authorities and was taken into custody following the rampage.
“As a follow to the Joint Statement just released, the subject referred to as the 13-year-old is the same subject in custody related to today’s shootings at Apalachee High School,” the FBI said.
Authorities said he is expected to be charged as an adult with murder.
Investigators are still trying to determine if anyone was specially targeted.
However, investigators are not yet aware of any known connections between Gray and the victims.
Authorities were “looking into every aspect of that individual, his connection here at the school,” said Chris Hosey, the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Gray was 13 back in May 2023 when the FBI referred the threat to the Jackson County Sheriff’s office.
The family resided in Jackson County at that time.
According to the FBI, the family has since relocated to Barrow County, Georgia.
Georgia authorities have not released the identities of the deceased and wounded victims.
However, one woman came forward to say her father was one of the teachers who was shot and injured.
In a public Facebook post on Wednesday, a woman named Katie Phenix explained that her father, David Phenix, had been shot at the school.
“We are so thankful for all the texts, calls, and messages about my dad, David Phenix,” the daughter wrote.
“There was a shooting this morning at Apalachee High School and my dad was shot in the foot and in the hip, shattering his hip bone.”
“He arrived to the hospital alert and awake,” she added.
“He just got out of surgery and is stable.
“We will update as we hear new information.
“We are so, so lucky, but please keep our family as well as the AHS family in your prayers.”
Dallas LeDuff, the county’s superintendent, said the Barrow County School System will close all its schools for the remainder of the week.
LeDuff said the schools will be closed while the district “cooperates fully with law enforcement” and that grief counseling would be available.
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