Georgia school shooting alleged shooter Colt Gary's father claimed that his son wanted to live a simple life but it became tough for him to go to school as his classmates were picking him up, calling him "gay," according to the recently released police interrogation transcripts.
Colt Gary has been accused of killing 4 people, including two students, in the Apalachee High School shooting while his father Colin Gary, 54, was charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for letting his son possess a weapon.
Authorities claimed that Colin knew and allowed his son Colt to have access to his firearms in the household ahead of Wednesday's shooting. The Jackson County Sheriff's Office had visited the Gray household multiple times and had flagged the 14-year-old as a person of interest leading up to the shooting at Apalachee High, Fox News reported.
In Georgia, second-degree murder means that a person has caused the death of another person while committing second-degree cruelty to children, regardless of intent. It is punishable by 10 to 30 years in prison, while malice murder and felony murder carry a minimum sentence of life. Involuntary manslaughter means that someone unintentionally caused the death of another person.
Colin Gary, in a call with Investigator Dan Miller in 2023, described Colt as someone who had been bullied and "ridiculed" by classmates.
"[Colt] just wants us to have a simple life. All that like, he should be excited about getting into 8th grade. It just was very difficult for him to go to school and not get picked on by, you know, it went from one thing to another to, you know, he was talking to the couple friends he has."
Colin also mentioned his efforts to involve Colt in extracurricular activities, such as the golf team, but his classmates continued to mock him, saying, "Oh look Colt's gay. He's dating that guy."
Georgia is among 42 states in the United States that holds parents criminally responsible for their children's actions, as per Fox News.
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