Mother of Georgia school shooter says teachers had early warning of fatal outburst

Colt Gray texted his mother on the morning of the shooting. It read simply, “I’m sorry.” Marcee Gray called the school at around 9:50 am to see if her son was okay. She reached the school counselor, and Gray said their conversations only heightened her concerns, the New York Post reported.

“The counselor said, ‘I wanted to let you know that earlier this morning, one of Colt’s teachers had sent me an email saying Colt had been making references to school shootings,’” Marcee Gray told the Washington Post. Gray added, “Between my gut feelings, the text messages, and now this email, you need to, like, run to the classroom."

Colt Gray has been charged with four counts of felony murder, while his father, Colin Gray, 54, was charged with involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children.

Marcee Gray relayed to her sister that she told the counselor that she believed the situation constituted an “extreme emergency” and that Colt should be located “immediately.” Police allege that Colt Gray started shooting about 30 minutes after his mom’s call. The school did try to find Colt in class but they reportedly found the wrong boy with a similar name.

Soon after, the shooting started with two teachers and two students killed and nine other students injured. Colt did not resist being apprehended by a school security officer and was placed under police custody. Marcee Gray told ABC that if it was possible, she would take the place of the slain teachers. “I would. I would in a heartbeat.”

The shooting was foreshadowed by a message received by local police that day when an anonymous person said Colt’s school would be one of five schools hit by mass shootings that day, the New York Post reported.