The 14-year-old student who opened fire on classmates in a horror mass shooting at Apalachee High School was on the radar of the FBI a year before the tragedy, it has emerged.
The federal agency said it interviewed accused gunman Colt Gray, 14, and his father last year following ‘several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time.’
Officials said Gray ‘denied making the threats online’ at the time, and the only action taken was to warn local schools to ‘continually monitor’ the troubled teen.
At a press conference Wednesday night, officials named the four victims of the shooting as teachers Christina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14.
Four people were shot dead Wednesday morning at Apalachee High School in Georgia on Wednesday, with officials revealing shooter Colt Gray was on the FBI radar for a year prior
14-year-old Mason Schermerhorn was the first victim identified in the mass shooting
Teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie were named by officials as the other victims in the tragedy
Student Christian Angulo, 14, also lost his life in the senseless shooting
In its statement on interviewing Gray last year, the FBI said the online threats included ‘photographs of guns.’
‘Within 24 hours, the FBI determined the online post originated in Georgia’ the statement continued, saying the ominous threats were referred to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office ‘for action.’
Under questioning, Gray’s father, who has not been named, told officers he owned hunting guns in his home, but Gray ‘did not have unsupervised access to them.’
The agency said after Gray denied the threats, Jackson County ‘alerted local schools for continued monitoring’ of the disturbed teen.
Following the tragic shooting, a junior at Apalachee High School who was sat next to Gray revealed the gunman’s chilling behavior moments before he opened fire – and how she and her classmates narrowly avoided death.
Lyela Sayarath said she was sat next to the 14-year-old gunman in algebra class on Wednesday morning, and had no indication of the horror that would unfold as she described him as a ‘quiet’ teen.
‘He never really talked, he wasn’t (in school) most times, he would just skip class,’ she told CNN. ‘Even when he would have talked, it was one word answers.’
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Lyela Sayarath, a junior at Apalachee High School, said she was sat next to shooter Colt Gray, 14, in algebra class just moments before he opened fire
A huge police presence descended on Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia on Wednesday after the tragedy
Horrific details from inside classrooms have emerged – depicting the chilling chaos students endured as gunshots rang out this morning
Sayarath said Gray left the classroom at 9:45am, around half an hour before active shooter alerts sounded, and thought he was skipping class as he didn’t take a bathroom pass from their teacher.
But while he was gone, a loudspeaker announcement told teachers to check their emails, before Sayarath said Gray re-appeared at their classroom door.
Still not realizing the danger, Sayarath said a student went to open the door for Gray before jumping back at the sight of his gun.
‘I guess he saw we weren’t going to let him in. And I guess the classroom next to me, their door was open so I think he just started shooting in the classroom,’ she said.
She said he proceeded to fire off a number of bullets ‘one after another’, adding: ‘When we heard it, most people just dropped to the floor and like kind of crawled in an area like piled on top of each other.’
Sayarath said her friend was in the next classroom and witnessed someone being shot, which left him ‘shaken up’. ‘He saw somebody get shot. He had blood on him. He was kinda limping. He looked horrified,’ she added.