Chilling unearthed video shows alleged Georgia school shooter Colt Gray smeared with blood after hunting trip
Newly unearthed footage shows alleged Georgia school shooter Colt Gray — his cheeks smeared with blood — brandishing an AR-15-style rifle at age 12 after shooting his first deer while hunting with his father.
The video, shot and narrated by Colt’s dad, Colin Gray, in January, 2023, captures the baby-faced accused killer, now 14, in full camouflage gear, cradling the .450 Bushmaster as he approaches the body of the felled animal.
Gray insists his young son pose with the rifle and dead deer, excitedly telling the camera: “I’ll follow you, sir. Holy crap, look at that, brother!” according to the post on mom Marcee Gray’s Instagram Reels.
Marcee Gray/Instagram
What we know about alleged Georgia school shooter Colt Gray's family
- Georgia school shooting suspect Colt Gray had a difficult home life filled with abuse and neglect.
- Gray’s mother, Marcee, has had multiple drug and domestic violence arrests.
- Gray’s father, Colin, allegedly bought his troubled son an AR-15 rifle for Christmas. He is facing charges for supplying the weapon.
- Lauren Vickers, a neighbor of the family, says the children were often locked out of the home.
- Charles Polhamus, Colt’s maternal grandfather, says Colin Gray was verbally abusive toward his grandson and daughter.
- Colt’s aunt, Annie Brown, says Colt had been struggling with his mental health.
The father even uses the moment to share a little gun safety advice with the preteen.
“Go ahead and lay your rifle down on it, barrel up, so you don’t get mud in the barrel. Lay the gun down like we had for the picture — remember, it’s still loaded,” Gray warns.
Colt then squats beside the beast and lifts its head up to pose for pictures as Gray beams with pride.
“On your first-ever deer hunt — big old giant three-pointer. Amazing! Look at that, son. What a hell of a shot! Yes sir!” Gray says, pegging the kill distance at 107 yards.
He asks the boy about the “kickback” of the rifle, which Colt says he didn’t feel at all.
Colin would later allude to a bloody-cheeked photo of Colt when Jackson County Sheriff’s officers visited the family’s home three months later pursuant to an FBI tip that the teen had threatened to shoot up a middle school, calling the pair’s day in the woods “the greatest day ever.”
He told investigators he wanted to teach Colt how to use firearms in part to get him away from video games.
Less than two years after the father-son bonding moment was captured on video, both have been charged with manslaughter and murder in the wake of the shooting at Apalachee High School, which claimed four lives and sent nine others to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. Colt pulled the trigger, while his dad supplied the gun, even if he had no idea what the boy would do, authorities say.
The pair made their first court appearances — back-to-back — Friday, with their next day in court expected in December.
