Mother of mass shooting suspect called Apalachee High School with a warning after getting an alarming text

Monday, September 9, 2024 - The mother of the teenager suspected of killing four people during a Georgia school shooting called to warn a school counselor before the shooting, the suspect’s aunt and grandfather said.

Colt Gray, 14, apologized to his mother Marcee Gray on the morning of the mass shooting at Apalachee High School, sending an alarming early-morning text that prompted the mother to warn the school, his grandfather told the New York Post.

Marcee Gray’s father, Charles Polhamus, told the New York Post his daughter was at his home in Georgia on Wednesday morning when Colt texted her to say: “I’m sorry, mom.”

Colt has been charged with four counts of murder after committing a mass shooting earlier this week at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, prosecutors said. He will be tried as an adult.

Marcee Gray broke her silence Saturday, apologizing for the “absolutely horrific” shooting.

“I am so, so sorry and can not fathom the pain and suffering they are going through right now,” she told the Washington Post in a text.

The mother called the school about an unspecified “extreme emergency” involving Colt sometime before the shooting began, Gray’s sister Annie Brown told the Washington Post and later confirmed to CNN.

A 10-minute call was placed from Marcee Gray’s phone to the school at 9:50 a.m., the Washington Post reported. Police were notified of the shooting around 10:20 that morning, CNN previously reported.

Marcee Gray later confirmed the call to the Washington Post, which reported Gray “declined to elaborate on what had prompted her to call in the warning to the school, but said she had shared that information with law enforcement.”

According to the Post, Brown has a shared phone plan with the family which allowed her to see a log of the calls made by her sister.

The Barrow County School District did not return CNN’s request for comment. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation referred CNN’s request for comment to the Piedmont Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.

CNN has reached out to the Piedmont Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office Saturday evening. CNN has also reached out to Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith, who previously said he did not know any phone call to the school before the shooting.

Colt Gray, 14, is accused of killing 2 teachers and 2 students and injuring 9 others during the mass shooting on Wednesday. He was arrested within minutes of the shooting at the school.

His father, Colin Gray, was also arrested and is facing charges of 2nd-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and cruelty to children. His arrest was the result of the fact that he reportedly purchased the gun, an AR-15 style weapon for his son.