The mother of suspected Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray told her family that she called her son’s school to warn them of an ‘extreme emergency’ on the morning that he allegedly killed four people.
Marcee Gray, the alleged shooter’s mother, was seen in text messages shared by The Washington Post telling her family: ‘I told them it was an extreme emergency and for them to go immediately and find [my son] to check on him.’
The outlet reported that a call log from the family’s shared phone plan shows Gray made a 10-minute call to the school at 9:50am on Wednesday, about half an hour before Colt allegedly opened fire.
Marcee’s father, Charles Polhamus, told The New York Post that Colt had delivered an apology to his mother via text message prior to the shooting, prompting her to call the school.
‘I’m sorry, mom,’ the text read.
Marcee Gray, the alleged shooter’s mother, told her family that she called her son’s school to warn them of an ‘extreme emergency’ on the morning that he allegedly killed four people
Colt Gray, 14, was arrested on Wednesday at Apalachee High School in Winder, minutes after authorities say he opened fire on 13 students and teachers, killing four
Marcee then hopped in her car and started driving toward the school, more than three hours away. But about half way there she learned that the tragedy she was racing to prevent had already taken place.
A counselor at the school told Marcee that her son had been talking about school shootings that morning, according to Gray’s sister Annie Brown who spoke to The Post.
Soon after the shooting began, reports surfaced that Apalachee High School received a warning that the tragedy could unfold.
In reported texts sent by Marcee, she told her family: ‘I was the one that notified the school counselor at the high school.’
According to Brown, her sister called the school because she learned something concerning that made her fear an ‘impending disaster’, however it is not reported what it was that she learned.
Her sister Annie Brown said that Marcee was told by a counselor that her son was displaying disturbing behavior that morning, ominously talking about school shootings.
At the same time, one of Colt’s classmates Lyela Sayarath – who previously shared a chilling account of how close she came to death – told the outlet that a school administrator went to find Colt in their class.
In her previous account to CNN, Sayarath said Colt was a serial class skipper and she assumed that was what he was doing when he left the classroom minutes before the administrator arrived.
However, there was some confusion as there was another student with a similar name to Colt’s in the class. Neither was in the room, and the administrator left the room with the similarly named student’s backpack.
Minutes later, the shooting began.
Mason Schermerhorn, 14, an autistic student at Apalachee High School, was the first victim to be identified. He was among four people killed in the mass shooting
Teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie were also killed in the tragedy
Student Christian Angulo, 14, also lost his life in the senseless shooting
The texts offer a clearer picture over how Colt’s family understood his mental turmoil and how close school officials came to finding him before he allegedly opened fire.
In one exchange after the shooting, Marcee texted her sister that she was questioning why officials had not found her son in time, as she felt there was a ‘long time for them to intervene so I’m curious to know what happened in that time.’
Further text exchanges reported from Marcee’s sister showed that Colt’s school and family were also in contact regarding his deteriorating mental health at least a week before the shooting.
In one text, Brown reportedly told a relative that Colt was having ‘homicidal and suicidal thoughts.’
‘He shouldn’t have a gun, and he should’ve been in THERAPY months ago,’ she added in the text.
It comes as the teen’s, Colin Gray, has also been charged with a litany of crimes, including murder. Prosecutors say he gave his son the weapon ‘with knowledge he was a threat to himself and others.’
Both father and son are facing life in prison.
Colin Gray, 54, appeared shortly after his son in the same courtroom, charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two of second degree murder and eight of cruelty to children
Brown said that her nephew had spent months ‘begging’ for mental health help, but the ‘adults around him failed him.’
Marcee was previously ordered by a court to have only limited contact with Colt’s father Colin after she pleaded guilty in December to a charge of family violence.
The alleged gunman’s parents split in 2022 after they were evicted, and the family had been involved in Georgia’s child welfare agency during their turmoil.
Months later in May 2023, the family were visited by local law enforcement after receiving an FBI tip about threats to carry out a school shooting.
Colt denied making the threats, and Colin told cops that he kept hunting rifles in the home but his son was not allowed to use them unsupervised.
Georgia school shooter Colt Gray made his first court appearance on Friday
Several classmates shared similar stories describing how the teen quietly slunk out of algebra class at around 10am on Wednesday, before he returned minutes later with a gun.
Another student, Bri Jones, 14, said she almost opened the door to Gray but stopped herself ‘as he was pulling his gun out.’
‘I froze up, like I froze up and I said “no” to myself,’ Jones told CNN. ‘He would have got every single one of us in that class.’
Jones said she almost opened the door, but stopped herself thanks to a tip from her mother.
‘I always look out the door before I open it… it’s a habit my mom taught me,’ she said.
Although she saw the gun, Jones said her teacher urged her to open the door ‘because she didn’t know he had a gun because she was at her desk.’
‘She was going to walk over there, open it, and I was like, “no, he has a gun,”‘ Jones recalled.
Two girls embrace during a vigil following the shooting at Apalachee High School
The Winder, Georgia community has been shaken by the tragedy
‘The shooter, he looked up,’ Jones continued. ‘He was looking at me, my teacher, and then somebody was in the hall. He turned his head, and he just started shooting.
‘Once he started shooting, it’s like he kept going, it was so many gunshots after gunshots… It felt like he was just shooting forever – and then like it stopped.’
Students said when Gray failed to enter his own classroom, he opened fire into the one next door as their door was open.
At that moment, teacher Richard Aspinwall was shot dead in front of his horrified class, which student Malaysia Mitchell said left her traumatized.
‘We had to drag our teacher’s body fully into the classroom,’ she told CNN. ‘We heard him take his last breath.’
Prosecutors said they have not ruled out bringing further charges against Gray in relation to the shooting.
