Colin Gray purchased the gun as a holiday present for his son in December 2023.
The father of the 14-year-old suspected in a Georgia school shooting that killed four people on Wednesday has been arrested with the officials saying he “knowingly allowed his son to have the murder weapon.
Colin Gray, 54, was charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children, officials said on Thursday.
“These charges stem from Gray knowingly allowing his son Colt to possess a weapon,” Chris Hosey, the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, told a press conference.
His son, Colt Gray, has been charged with four counts of felony murder and would be tried as an adult, Hosey said.
The shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder saw two teachers – Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53 – and two 14-year-old students – Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo – being killed. Two teachers and seven students were also injured in the attack.
Investigators say that Gray used an “AR platform style weapon,” or semiautomatic rifle, to carry out the shooting.
CNN reported that Colin purchased the gun as a holiday present for his son in December 2023. The rifle was purchased at a local gun store as a Christmas present, a CNN report said.
The suspect was interviewed by law enforcement last year over online threats about committing a school shooting.
The US has witnessed hundreds of shootings inside schools and colleges in the past two decades, which has intensified the debate over gun laws in the country.
“We’ve Gotta Stop It”
US Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party nominee for president, called the Georgia shooting a “senseless tragedy.”
“We’ve gotta stop it. We have to end this epidemic of gun violence,” she said at a campaign event.
The White House said in a statement that US President Joe Biden had been briefed on the shooting “and his administration will continue coordinating with federal, state, and local officials as we receive more information.”
“Jill and I are mourning the deaths of those whose lives were cut short due to more senseless gun violence and thinking of all of the survivors whose lives are forever changed,” Biden said in a statement, calling on Republicans to work with Democrats to pass “common-sense gun safety legislation.”
Former US President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president, called it a “tragic” event.
“These cherished children were taken from us far too soon by a sick and deranged monster,” he wrote on social media.