Georgia School Shooting Suspect Was Known to FBI for Over a Year Prior

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(NewsNation) — A teenager accused of killing four people and injuring nine others at his Georgia high school was interviewed by the FBI in 2023.

Authorities named Apalachee student Colt Gray as the suspect, and he is expected to be charged with murder and tried as an adult, according to law enforcement.

The teen had been interviewed after the FBI received anonymous tips in May 2023 about online threats to commit an unspecified school shooting, the agency said in a statement.

The FBI narrowed the threats down and referred to the case to the sheriff’s department in Jackson County, which is adjacent to Barrow County.

The sheriff’s office interviewed the then-13-year-old and his father, who said there were hunting guns in the house but the teen did not have unsupervised access to them. The teen also denied making any online threats.

Retired FBI Special Agent Bobby Chacon told NewsNation’s “Banfield” on Wednesday that even though Jackson County officials received information on Gray, that wasn’t enough to charge him with any crime.

“It comes down to, has a crime been committed? If it hasn’t, then there’s no action to be taken other than to tell the school you need to keep an eye on this kid,” Chacon said. “You need to have more engagement in him, whether it be with a guidance counselor, with a school psychologist. … The school is set up to do that, absent a crime being committed. That’s all that authorities can do.”

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said the state Division of Family and Children’s Services also had previous contact with the teen and will investigate whether that has any connection with the shooting.

Authorities were still looking into how the suspect obtained the gun used in the shooting and got it into the school in Barrow County, a rapidly suburbanizing area on the edge of metro Atlanta’s ever-expanding sprawl.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.