US shooting: Teenager who shot up his school was under surveillance, his profile is intriguing

A 14-year-old teenager has killed four people in his high school on Wednesday. He was not unknown to the authorities.

This Wednesday evening, a new shooting broke out in the Apalachee high school in the city of Winder, in the state of Georgia in the United States. The shooter was armed with an AR-15 assault rifle and four people lost their lives, two students and two math teachers. Nine other victims had to be hospitalized but are expected to survive. The suspect was quickly arrested by law enforcement and imprisoned.

He is a 14-year-old student at the school. He was identified by authorities as Colt Gray. He will be prosecuted “for murder and tried as an adult,” said the director of the Georgia State Bureau of Investigation.

The teen is no stranger to authorities. According to preliminary investigations, he was previously questioned last year for “multiple anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an undisclosed location and time,” the Atlanta FBI and the Jackson County Sheriff's Office reported. CNN. The young man had denied making such threats. When questioned with his father, the latter had assured that he had hunting weapons to which his son had no access. The local authorities had however been warned to keep a close eye on the teenager. There was no valid reason at the time to proceed with an arrest. 

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A “discreet” boy

The high school attacked had also received an anonymous telephone threat that morning, warning of shootings in five schools and that their establishment would be the first. Colt Gray was nevertheless described by his classmates as someone “discreet” and "shy". No specific target was identified. currently identified. 

According to a student at CNN, the suspected shooter left the classroom at the beginning of class. When he returned, he knocked on the door to get in. A student went to answer it, but noticed the gun and held the door shut. The shooter then opened fire in the neighboring classroom. The students were quarantined and then evacuated. 

School shootings are a recurring phenomenon in the country. Since the beginning of the year, there have already been 23 that have caused casualties. The Apalachee High School shooting is the deadliest of 2024. The candidate Presidential hopeful Kamala Harris called the tragedy a “senseless tragedy,” saying that “every day… parents have to send their children to school worrying whether their child will come home alive or not.” For his part, his opponent, Donald Trump, declared on Truth Social: “Our thoughts are with the victims and the loved ones of those affected by the tragic event in Winder, Georgia. These beloved children were taken from us far too soon by a sick and deranged monster.”