The 14-year-old student who opened fire on classmates in the horrific shooting at Apalachee High School was questioned by the FBI a year before the tragedy, it has emerged.
The federal agency said it questioned 14-year-old suspect Colt Gray and his father last year following “multiple anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unknown location and time.”
Officials confirmed that the person the FBI questioned last year was Gray, but the agency said in a statement at the time that he “denied making online threats.”
It comes after Gray was named by authorities as the gunman who opened fire at his high school on Wednesday morning, killing two students and two teachers and wounding nine others.
At a news conference Wednesday night, authorities named the victims as teachers Christina Emery and Richard Aspinwall, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Kristen Angolo, both 14.
Four people were shot and killed at Apalachee High School in Georgia on Wednesday morning, officials said, adding that the FBI has questioned them.
Officials said the shooter, identified as Colt Gray, had been on the FBI’s radar for a year but denied making online threats when questioned.
In its statement about Gray’s interrogation last year, the FBI said the online threats included “pictures of weapons.”
“Within 24 hours, the FBI determined the online post originated in Georgia,” the statement said, adding that the ominous threats were forwarded to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office “for action.”
During questioning, Gray’s father, who has not been named, told officers he had hunting rifles in the house but that Gray “did not have unsupervised access to them.”
After Gray denied the threats, Jackson County alerted local schools to continue monitoring the disturbed teen, the agency said.
After the tragic shooting, an Apalachee High School student who sat next to Gray recounted the shooter’s terrifying behavior just before he opened fire, and how she and her classmates narrowly escaped death.
Lyela Sayarath said she sat next to the 14-year-old gunman in math class Wednesday morning and had no idea of the horrors that would unfold. She described him as a “quiet” teenager.
“He never really spoke, he wasn’t (at school) most of the time, he was just skipping school,” she told CNN. “Even when he did speak, he would give one-word answers.”
Lyela Sayarath, a sophomore at Apalachee High School, said she was sitting next to gunman Colt Gray, 14, in math class moments before he opened fire
A large police presence descended on Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia on Wednesday following the tragedy
Horrifying details have emerged from inside classrooms showing the chilling chaos students endured as gunfire rang out this morning
Sayarath said Gray left the classroom at 9:45 a.m., about a half hour before the active shooter alert went off. He believed he had skipped class because his teacher hadn’t given him a bathroom pass.
But while he was gone, a loudspeaker announced that teachers should check their email. Then, Sayarath said, Gray reappeared at their classroom door.
Still not realizing how dangerous it was, Sayarath said a student tried to open the door for Gray but backed away when he saw his gun.
“I think he saw that we weren’t going to let him in. And I think the classroom next to me, their door, was open, so I think he just started shooting into the classroom,” she said.
She said he fired several bullets “one by one,” adding: “When we heard it, most of the people dropped to the ground and were like crawling on top of each other.”
Sayarath said her friend was in the classroom next door and saw someone get shot, which left him “shocked.” “He saw someone get shot. There was blood on him. He was limping a little bit. He looked shocked,” she added.
