Grandpa of Accused Georgia School Shooter Says Teen's ‘Evil’ Father Should get Death Penalty for Provoking Massacre
Mugshots of Colin Gray (right) and his son Colt Gray (left). Both have been charged over the four killings at a school in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday.
Sept. 9 2024, Published 1:02 p.m. ET
The grandfather of Colt Gray, the accused Georgia school shooter, says the boy's father deserves the death penalty for his alleged role in the massacre, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Charles Polhamus, the maternal grandfather of the 14-year-old suspected gunman, told the New York Post that his former son-in-law, Colin Gray, deserves much of the blame for last week’s mass shooting at Apalachee High School that left two students and two teachers dead.
Four people were killed and nine injured during the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia.
“Spending 11 years with that son of a bitch screaming and hollering every day — it can affect anybody,” 81-year-old Polhamus, speaking of his ex-son-in-law, who was married to Polhamus’ daughter Marcee, told the publication.
Polhamus said Colin Gray is “evil” and "needs the death penalty." He also noted that while his grandson, Colt, “has to pay for what he did,” he added that “he was driven by his father to do what he did.”
The victims in the Apalachee High School shooting (left to right): Mason Schermerhorn, 14; Christian Angulo, 14; Richard Aspinwall, 39; and Christina Irimie, 53.
The grandfather said his son-in-law got what he deserved after he was charged with four counts of manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children for being an alleged accessory in the school shooting, as RadarOnline.com previously reported.
If convicted of the charges, Colin Gray faces up to 180 years behind bars.
Even after meeting with authorities over possible online threats made by Colt, the student's father is accused of gifting him an AR-15-style rifle for Christmas in 2023. The weapon is allegedly the same used in the high school massacre, officials said.
Colt Gray's father, Colin Gray, was also brought up on charges after he allegedly supplied him with the AR-15-style gun.
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Colt was charged with four counts of murder and will be tried as an adult. He faces up to life in prison if found guilty. Since he is younger than 18 years old, the judge informed him he will not face the death penalty if convicted.
“Colt is like a lot of young kids these days with the tablets and some of the garbage they pull up, the blood and all the fighting,” Polhamus said of his grandson. “If you don’t think that has an impact on young kids, you’re missing the boat, and that was also part of Colt’s problem.”
Accused shooter Colt Gray sent his mother a chilling text message before the Apalachee High School massacre.
Polhamus alleged that part of Colt's problems stemmed from “living with a dysfunctional dad who was a screamer and a hollerer” and that “prior to going through this, he was a good kid.”
The grandfather claimed the suspected killer's dad, Colin, squandered the family’s finances and ended up losing their “half-million-dollar farm” because of an alleged addiction after he suffered a back injury, according to The Post.
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He allegedly also claimed his daughter — Colt's mother, 43-year-old Marcee Gray — allegedly got sucked into addiction, which ended up costing her custody of Colt and the couple’s other children.
Marcee reportedly has a lengthy rap sheet, which includes drug and domestic violence arrests.
At the time of the shooting, Colt lived with his father. However, Marcee did receive a text from her son the morning of the shooting, which said, “I’m sorry mom.”
She desperately tried to get in touch with Apalachee High School to warn them of an “extreme emergency,” but it was too late, RadarOnline.com previously reported.
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