Colin Gray, father of the 14-year-old charged in the Apalachee High School shooting, has requested to be separated from other inmates, according to court records.
Court documents from Barrow County Superior Court, obtained by 11Alive on Wednesday, show that Gray’s attorneys filed a motion seeking his isolation while in jail.
The motion states that Gray, 54, has received numerous threats, with some calling for his death.
“It is certain that those feelings of anger and retribution manifested in the collective pschye, of both the public and the community at large are not also represented in the individuals currently incarcerated with the Defendant at the Barrow County Detention Center,” the motion stated.
“In fact, so many lives in the community of Barrow County have been touched in unfathomable ways, it would be reckless to assume there are NO inmates, either currently or in the near future, being housed in the Barrow County Detention, who wish to harm the Defendant.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, police charged his son, Colt Gray, with four counts of murder, accusing him of using a semiautomatic rifle to kill two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder.
Colt Gray surrendered to school resource officers and was taken into custody, according to law enforcement officials. Investigators found evidence of his interest in mass shootings, including the 2018 Parkland, Florida, high school attack, two officials familiar with the case reported.
According to a sheriff’s report, Colt Gray denied planning a school shooting when questioned last year about a threatening social media post. Conflicting evidence about the post’s source prevented authorities from making an arrest.
Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum reviewed the May 2023 report and concluded there was no basis for charges at that time.
The teen’s maternal grandfather, Charlie Polhamus, said he believes his grandson is responsible but also pointed to the challenges in his life, including his father’s separation from his wife.
“My grandson did what he did because of the environment that he lived in,” Polhamus said.
NBC 15 reports that the teen’s mother, Marcee Ann Gray, 43, has a lengthy criminal history that spans across numerous Georgia counties, including “Barrow, Fulton, Forsyth and Ben Hill.”
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[Feature Photo: Colin Gray, 54, the father of Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray, 14, enters the Barrow County courthouse for his first appearance, on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)]
