US school shooting suspect, 14, quizzed about threats last year

A lad accused of sidesplitting 4 radical astatine his precocious schoolhouse successful Georgia was interviewed past twelvemonth by constabulary astir anonymous online threats, the FBI has said.

Colt Gray, 14, denied to constabulary successful May 2023 helium was down net posts that contained images of guns, informing of a schoolhouse shooting.

The fishy opened occurrence connected Wednesday astatine Apalachee High School successful the metropolis of Winder, sidesplitting 2 teachers and 2 pupils, investigators say. Eight students and 1 teacher were injured.

He was arrested connected field and volition beryllium prosecuted arsenic an adult.

Police person identified the victims arsenic teachers Christina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall and 14-year-old students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo.

In a quality conference, Georgia Bureau of Investigation manager Chris Hosey said the weapon utilized was an "AR-platform benignant weapon".

In a statement, the FBI said its National Threat Operations Center had alerted section instrumentality enforcement successful May 2023 aft receiving anonymous tips astir "online threats to perpetrate a schoolhouse shooting astatine an unidentified determination and time".

The bureau said that wrong 24 hours investigators had determined that the threats originated successful Georgia.

Sheriff's deputies interviewed the lad and his father, who "stated helium had hunting guns successful the house, but the taxable did not person unsupervised entree to them", the FBI said.

The suspect, who was 13 years aged astatine the time, denied making the online threats and officials "alerted section schools for continued monitoring of the subject".

"At the time, determination was nary probable origin for an apprehension oregon to instrumentality immoderate further instrumentality enforcement enactment connected the local, authorities oregon national levels," added the FBI statement.

Sheriff Jud Smith described the onslaught arsenic "pure evil" and said officers were connected country wrong minutes of receiving 911 calls astatine 10:20 section clip (14:20 GMT).

Two officers assigned to the schoolhouse "immediately encountered the subject", the sheriff said, adding that the lad "immediately surrendered".

The lad has been interviewed and spoke with investigators erstwhile portion successful custody, Sheriff Smith said.

The sheriff added that nary motive had been identified and that instrumentality enforcement did not cognize of "any targets astatine this point".

Students described chaotic scenes arsenic alerts went retired that an attacker was connected campus. Classes astatine Apalachee began past month, but galore students crossed the US are returning to schools this week.

Lyela Sayarath, who was successful the alleged attacker's class, told CNN that the fishy near the country astatine the opening of an algebra lesson.

She said helium came backmost and knocked connected the door, which had locked automatically, but different pupil refused to fto him successful aft noticing helium had a gun.

Lyela told CNN the attacker past went to the schoolroom adjacent door, wherever helium began shooting.

Marques Coleman, 14, said helium saw the attacker holding a "big gun" conscionable earlier the shooting began.

"I got up, I started running, helium started shooting like, similar 10 times. He changeable astatine slightest 10 times," helium told CBS News, the BBC's US partner.

"My teacher started barricading the doorway with desks," helium said.

After lasting up, the pupil said helium saw "one of my classmates connected the crushed bleeding truthful bad", different miss changeable successful the limb and a person changeable successful the stomach.

A vigil was held connected Wednesday evening successful the metropolis of 18,000 residents astir 50 miles (80km) from Atlanta.

This was the 23rd US schoolhouse shooting of 2024, according to a database maintained by mag Education Week, which counts 11 dormant and 38 injured successful specified attacks truthful acold this year.

David Riedman, who runs the K-12 School Shooting Database, told Reuters quality bureau that the shooting successful Georgia was the archetypal "planned attack" astatine a schoolhouse during this autumn term.