WINDER, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) agent who interviewed Colin Gray only hours after his son was arrested in connection to a Georgia mass school shooting told him, “This is not your fault” and “You can’t blame yourself.”

Colin Gray is currently on trial in connection to the Sept. 4, 2024, Apalachee High School shooting that killed four people and injured nine others. His son, Colt Gray, is accused in the shooting, and Colin Gray is accused of allowing the teen access to the firearm allegedly used in the incident.

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On Tuesday, jurors heard the transcript of an audio recording with Colin Gray conducted by GBI agent Kelsey Ward after Colt Gray was arrested.

Ward testified Colin Gray was sitting on the tailgate of his truck in the driveway when agents arrived, and was calm and agreeing to speak with police. He said he was at his construction job when his daughter texted him about a high school shooting.

“I have this gut feeling,” Colin Gray told Ward. “I went into [Colt’s] room … he’s either the one laying there or he’s the one in custody … I know what happened … I’ve had the news on,“ Gray said.

Ward testified Colin Gray shared a series of text messages between him and his son on the morning of the shooting:

• Colin Gray to Colt Gray: “Good morning big boy I love you and I’m proud of you and I’ll see you this afternoon.”
• Colt Gray to Colin Gray: “I’m sorry, it’s not your fault.”
• Colin Gray to Colt Gray: “What’s wrong bubba? ... You didn’t do anything ... What’s wrong?”
• Colt Gray to Colin Gray: “Know I love you Jenny and Coley you’re not to blame for any of it.”

“I know what happened and I’m upset and sad but I’m really p****d because that kid [has] been feeding us a whole lot of, ‘I want to get better,’” Colin Gray told Ward.

“I swear to God, this is the last thing I thought.”

>> Colin Gray’s Apalachee school shooting trial | What you need to know

On the recording, Ward told Colin Gray, “you’ve been doing some great work in all your kids lives,” “you were doing all the steps,” and “you sound like a great dad,” after which Colin Gray replied, “apparently not.”

According to Colin Gray’s account to the GBI, Colt Gray’s behavior had become progressively more aggressive and volatile. Gray described:

• Physical escalation: Three to four physical altercations between father and son.
• Visual warning signs: Gray said he could “see his face change” and recognize when Colt Gray was “about to bull rush me.”
• Property damage including a broken window.

On the day of the shooting, Colin Gray emphasized the importance of school attendance to his son, insisting he attend so “he doesn’t end up in truancy court” and so the school counselor could become involved. Colin Gray said he was also awaiting medical insurance from his new job at Kevin Price Construction to become active so he could access proper mental health services for his son.

Colin Gray acknowledged purchasing an AR-15 .223 Sig Sauer rifle as a Christmas gift for Colt Gray, purchased at Mike’s Gun Room in December 2023. Gray framed the purchase as a hunting rifle, telling his son: “This is for you to hunt with, but it’s not a toy.”

According to Gray’s account, firearms were kept in the top of a closet, separate from ammunition, with the exception of Colt Gray’s rifle, which was stored in the teenager’s bedroom where he had been working on attaching a laser sight to it.

Days before the shooting, Colin Gray told the GBI he noticed a photograph of a person with a red wig on his son’s wall. When Colin Gray asked his son who it was, Colt Gray said it was Nicholas Cruz, the school shooter responsible for the 2018 Parkland, Florida, shooting that killed 17 people.

When Colin Gray discovered his wife, Marcee Gray, had tested positive for methamphetamine, he said it created additional household tension. Colt Gray responded by telling his mother that “nothing dad was doing was good enough and maybe he needed to be in an insane asylum,” Colin Gray said.

Colin Gray described his son as musically talented but socially isolated. Colt Gray was a loner with no close friendships at school and frequently refused to attend classes. Video gaming became his primary refuge; he regularly played “Call of Duty.”

>> Full coverage of the Apalachee High School shooting

Colin Gray believed hunting with his son had therapeutic value and provided an opportunity to strengthen their relationship. Colin Gray said felt they had “turned a corner” after a hunting trip where the two connected over the shared experience.

During cross-examination, the defense attempted to shift focus away from Colin Gray’s potential culpability, highlighting that:

• Colin Gray had actively sought professional help for Colt Gray.
• He had completed paperwork for counseling services.
• He had attempted to involve the school counselor.
• Colt Gray had complained to his mother that his father “wasn’t doing enough.”

The defense also introduced evidence Marcee Gray had demonstrated interest in school shooters and had searched online for “parents arrested in school shooter case,” suggesting potential prior knowledge or awareness of risks within the family.

Also testifying on Tuesday was Jenni Gray, Colin and Marcee Gray’s daughter and Colt Gray’s younger sister, who testified firearms in the family home were never secured in a safe manner and at least three guns were present, including one stored in her brother’s room.

Jenni Gray testified she expressed concern about Colt Gray’s access to the weapons and spoke to her father about removing the gun from the house, but said he never complied with her request.

Jenni Gray also recalled photographs of Nicholas Cruz, the Parkland school shooter, displayed on her brother’s room walls. She also said she knew, before law enforcement arrived at the family home on the day of the shooting, that her brother was responsible.

Jenni Gray testified during a subsequent law enforcement interview, her father told her to tell investigators that Colin Gray did not know who was depicted in the photographs of school shooters on Colt Gray’s walls.

She said she was nervous about the interview and uncertain about what would happen to her family, and that she downplayed some of her father’s knowledge about her brother’s concerns during her initial statement to authorities.

Jenni Gray said she currently lives with foster parents in a stable environment and has received counseling services.

Colin Gray is facing up to 180 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Both Colin Gray and Colt Gray have pleaded not guilty.

Atlanta News First will stream the trial gavel-to-gavel until its conclusion.

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