The FBI had issued warnings about Colt Gray’s concerning online activities more than a year prior to his alleged Georgia high school shooting, but local law enforcement closed their investigation within just two days without removing any weapons from the home, according to police report documents viewed by The Post. In May of 2023, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office visited Gray’s residence following a tip from the FBI stating that Colt had threatened to shoot up a middle school on Discord, an online messaging platform popular among gamers.
Upon speaking with Colin Gray, Colt’s father, and Colt himself, who was 13 years old at the time, officers learned that Colt claimed to have deleted his Discord account and expressed concern over being falsely accused of threatening a school shooting. He insisted he “would never say such a thing, even as a joke.” Colin admitted there were hunting rifles in the home, and that Colt had occasional supervised access to them. The officers advised him to keep his guns under lock and key and recommended keeping Colt out of school until the matter could be resolved; however, school was already out for the year at that point.
Police then reviewed the FBI tip two days later and focused on a Discord account created after Colt claimed to have deleted his. This account utilized several different IP addresses in various states. A photo attachment included with the tip revealed the profile name was written in Russian and translated as “Lanza,” which investigators noted is a reference to Adam Lanza, the man responsible for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012.
When officers brought this information back to the Gray’s home, Colin told them that Colt did not know or speak Russian and that the boy had stopped using Discord because “too many people kept hacking his account.” He added that his son was afraid someone would use his information for nefarious purposes. With no evidence to substantiate the threat or conclusively link Colt or Colin to the Discord account, the police closed their investigation.
Some 15 months later, Colt allegedly went on a shooting rampage at Apalachee High School, resulting in the deaths of two students and two teachers while leaving nine others hospitalized. A request for comment sent to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division has not been returned.
