The mother of the alleged shooter journeyed for approximately 200 miles to Winder, Georgia, following enigmatic messages she received prior to the school assault in the morning.
Colt Gray, 14, expressed regret to his mom, Marcee Gray, on the morning of the tragedy at Apalachee High School, sending a disturbing, enigmatic message that instigated Marcee to alert the school about possible concerns, as revealed by Colt's grandfather to CNN, substantiating details he earlier shared with the New York Post.
The text read, "I'm sorry, mom," as per Marcee Gray's father, Charles Polhamus, who was close to Marcee in their residence in Fitzgerald, Georgia, when she received the message.
Marcee Gray phoned the school concerning an indefinite "critical emergency" pertaining to Colt, prior to the onset of the event, as relayed by Marcee's sister Annie Brown to the Washington Post and subsequently validated by CNN.
A 10-minute phone call was made from Marcee's phone to the school at 9:50 a.m., the Washington Post reported – approximately 30 minutes prior to the police being notified of the incident.
According to the Post, Brown shares a phone plan with the family, which granted her access to the call logs of her sister.
Upon conclusion of the 10-minute conversation, Polhamus stated, Marcee and her mother embarked on the 200-mile drive from Fitzgerald to Winder.
Marcee Gray subsequently confirmed the call to the Washington Post, which reported she declined to disclose the cause of her call to the school, but acknowledged sharing the information with law enforcement.
"I am so, so apologetic and struggle to grasp the pain and turmoil they are experiencing at the moment," she communicated to the Washington Post via text.
Colt Gray has been indicted on four counts of homicide following the shooting episode, prosecutors affirmed. He is due to stand trial as an adult and is expected to face further charges in relation to the wounded and injured victims.
Marcee Gray stepped forward publicly on Saturday, expressing contrition to those affected by the "completely reprehensible" event.
The Barrow County School District did not respond to CNN's request for comment, while the Georgia Bureau of Investigation redirected CNN's query to the Piedmont Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office.
CNN contacted the Piedmont Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office on Saturday evening, and also reached out to Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith, who previously asserted ignorance of any phone call to the school before the incident.
Here's what we currently know about the event – the 45th school shooting of 2024, and the deadliest US school shooting since the March 2023 incident at The Covenant School in Nashville:
• The four casualties: The shooting at Apalachee High School resulted in the demise of two 14-year-old students – Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn, alongside two educators – 53-year-old math teacher Cristina Irimie and 39-year-old assistant football coach Richard Aspinwall, who also taught math. Law enforcement authorities claimed Irimie was celebrating her birthday with her students on the day she was killed, according to a family friend.
• Eight expected recoveries: Of the nine patients injured, seven of them – six students and a teacher – experienced gunshots, the GBI announced Thursday. The remaining two – both students – wounded themselves through other means, the GBI revealed.
• Investigation into online threats: In May 2023, Colt Gray and his father, Colin Gray, were interviewed by law enforcement over "online threats to conduct a school shooting," which included pictures of weapons, as per a joint statement from FBI Atlanta and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. Colt Gray, then 13, told investigators during that meeting that "another person is accusing him of threatening to shoot up a school, stating that he would under no circumstances utter such words, even in jest," authorities said. The threats could not be substantiated, and the investigation was closed, according to the sheriff's office.
• Father's charges: Two law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation claimed Colin Gray, 54, informed authorities he purchased the AR-style rifle used in the school shooting as a Christmas present for his son in December 2023 – mere months after authorities first approached the father concerning the online threats. Colin Gray has been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of child cruelty.
• Writings on past shootings: During questioning, Colt Gray told investigators, "I did it," according to the Barrow County sheriff. As authorities searched his home, they discovered documents they believe were written by him, referencing previous school shootings, including references to the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, a law enforcement source informed CNN.
• Display of solidarity: Prior to the Georgia Bulldogs' encounter against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles Saturday, a moment of silent remembrance was observed for those impacted by the shooting. Additionally, on Saturday, around 100 motorcyclists from various motorcycle clubs showed their support in front of the high school. The Atlanta Falcons donned Apalachee Wildcats T-shirts during pregame warmups for their NFL contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
• Students recall intense ordeal: In one classroom, a 14-year-old girl admitted preventing the suspect from entering the room when she noticed him brandishing a gun. Meanwhile, after a teacher in another classroom was struck, students reported assisting him in reentering the room and employing their shirts to try and control his bleeding while securing the door with desks and chairs. A teenage boy disclosed rushing to lock his classroom door to prevent the shooter from gaining entry – only to discover he himself had been wounded.
Families of the affected individuals dabbed their eyes or hugged their plush toys as they sat in the Barrow County courtroom last Friday during Colt Gray's hearing, where he refused to enter a plea to the accusations brought against him.
Due to his youth, the harshest sentence Gray could face is a lifetime in prison with or without the possibility of parole, as Judge Currie Mingledorff told the adolescent in court. The US Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that no one under the age of 18 can be sentenced to death for crimes they committed.
The subsequent phase in Gray's trial will be a grand jury meeting on October 17. This will be followed by a scheduled arraignment before the trial process commences, according to Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith. Gray's preliminary hearing is scheduled for December 4, Mingledorff said.
In a separate case, Colin Gray faces a maximum sentence of 180 years in prison due to the charges against him. An arrest warrant for Colin Gray alleges that he provided his son with a firearm, knowing that he was a danger to both himself and others.
"I'm merely using the tools at my disposal to prosecute individuals for the crimes they commit," District Attorney Smith said.
Colin Gray declined to enter a plea at his first court appearance last Friday, and neither he nor his son requested that bail be set at their hearings.
CNN has reached out to the public defenders representing Colt Gray and his father for comment.
Beginning on Monday, a community recovery center will open in Barrow County to provide financial assistance, legal services, and mental and spiritual healthcare to those affected.
It remains unclear when classes will resume at Apalachee High School. Officials are still making arrangements, although plans are in place for individuals to retrieve their belongings from the school on Monday, according to a letter from principal Jessica Rehberg to students' parents.
"We are evaluating the best course of action and compassionately planning the details of our future," Rehberg wrote in the letter.
The rest of Barrow County's school system is expected to resume classes on Tuesday.
Student reveals she chose not to open the door following the sighting of a gun
Bri Jones, 14, was in her second period on Wednesday when Colt Gray left the classroom. "We didn't notice he left," Jones described, adding that he was usually quiet.
Gray returned and knocked on the door, Jones said.
Jones explained that she peered out the door before opening it because her mother had taught her to do so.
"As I was looking at the door, he was pulling out his gun, and I froze up, like I froze up and I told myself ‘no’," she recounted.
The teacher requested the door to be opened since she was unaware that Gray had a gun, Jones explained. Just as she was about to open the door, "I was like, 'No, he has a gun,'" Jones said.
Gray then looked up at them before firing, Jones said.
"He was looking at me, my teacher, and then someone was in the hall," she continued. "He turned his head and started shooting."
The students then rushed to the back of the classroom, and the teacher turned off the lights, Jones explained.
"Once he started shooting, it's like he kept going, it was so many gunshots after gunshots," she said. "It felt like he was just shooting forever."
If Jones had opened the door, she believed "he would have gotten every single one of us in that class."
Another student, 14-year-old Ronaldo Vega, took cover beneath his desk when the shooting commenced in his second-period math class, according to Vega. Afterward, he stood up, quickly closed the classroom door, and prevented the gunman from reentering, he said.
Only then did Vega realize that he had been shot and was bleeding, according to his account.
Students removed their shirts to assist their math teacher
Richard Aspinwall, a math teacher, heard commotion outside his classroom and entered the hallway to investigate. When he did, the 14-year-old suspect shot him in the chest, according to family friend Julie Woodson, who cited accounts from Aspinwall's students.
"We watched our teacher enter the classroom, holding himself as if he had been shot, and collapse to the ground," 17-year-old Malasia Mitchell recalled. "And as he continued to fall, our teacher was shot again."
Students in the classroom said they helped Aspinwall back into the room and used their shirts to attempt to stem the bleeding, according to Woodson.
Meanwhile, the students barricaded themselves in the classroom with desks and chairs, Mitchell recalled.
Woodson said that Aspinwall "died as a hero while attempting to save his students' lives."
"If he hadn't ventured out and taken the bullet, who knows what might have happened," Woodson said.
Malasia remembered Aspinwall as "a fantastic person" with an "incomparable spirit" – someone who would not have wanted her to give up.
"He wouldn't have wanted me to cease attending school," she said. "He would have wanted me to continue my education."
This report contains contributions from CNN's Scott Glover, Keith Allen, Ashley R. Williams, Rebekah Riess, Holly Yan, Mark Morales, Ryan Young, Isabel Rosales, Chelsea Bailey, Sara Smart, Jaide Timm-Garcia, Raja Razek, Jade Gordon, and Steve Sorg.
Marcee Gray sent a message to her son, Colt Gray, expressing regret, which led her to call the school about her concerns.She acknowledged to the Washington Post that she communicated her concerns to law enforcement.
