Video shows 14-year-old shooting suspect posing with gun and dead deer

WASHINGTON (TND) — A video of the Georgia high school shooting suspect posing with a rifle and a dead deer is circulating online a week after he allegedly shot and killed four people.

According to CNN, the video shows 14-year-old Colt Gray hunting deer with a .450 Bushmaster rifle. The outlet noted that the video was apparently filmed in January 2023.

“A man who refers to Colt as his son praises the boy’s shooting skills,” CNN reported. “The video is a screen recording of an Instagram post from an account that appears to belong to Colt’s mother, Marcee Gray.”

***WARNING: The following video contains explicit material. Discretion is advised.***

Gunshots rang out at Apalachee High School in Winder on September 4, killing two students and two teachers.

Authorities identified the victims as:

• Mason Schermerhorn, a 14-year-old student
• Christian Angulo, a 14-year-old student
• Richard Aspinwall, teacher
• Christina Irimie, teacher

Colt Gray has been charged as an adult with four counts of murder. District Attorney Brad Smith said additional charges are likely to be filed against him in connection with several other people injured in the shooting.

Authorities also charged his father, Colin Gray, alleging he gave his son access to the gun when he knew or should have known the teen posed a danger to himself and others.

In a joint statement from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Atlanta and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, authorities said the teenager was questioned after the FBI received several anonymous tips in May 2023 about online threats to commit an unspecified school shooting.

“The online threats contained photographs of firearms. Within 24 hours, the FBI determined that the online message originated in Georgia and the FBI Atlanta Field Office forwarded the information to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office for further action,” the statement said.

The sheriff’s office located a potential suspect, a boy who was then 13, the statement said. They interviewed the teen and his father, who told authorities he had guns at home but added that his son “did not have unsupervised access to them.”

The statement said the boy denied making the threats and the sheriff’s office warned the school to keep an eye on him.

“At this time, there was no probable cause to make an arrest or take additional law enforcement action at the local, state or federal levels,” the statement said.

Authorities are still investigating how the suspect obtained the weapon used in the shooting, as well as how he got it into the school.

At a news conference the day of the shooting, Sheriff Jud Smith said all nine injured people are expected to survive. He added that his heart breaks for the community, especially the students and staff.

“But I want to make it very clear that hate will not prevail in this county,” Smith said. “I want to make that very clear and known. Love will prevail over what happened today.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE:The Associated Press contributed to this report.