In an interview with The New York Post on Saturday, Charles Polhamus, grandfather of Georgia school shooter Colt Gray, laid the blame squarely on the boy’s father, Colin Gray, and called for his execution.
Polhamus, 81, described Colin Gray as the driving force behind the tragedy, insisting the father’s destructive behavior led his grandson down a dark path.
Authorities announced Thursday that Colin Gray, 54, a former Marine and the father of 14-year-old Colt Gray, faces numerous charges after the horrific tragedy at Apalachee High School, which claimed four lives and left nine others wounded.
The charges against the father, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), include four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children.
The state’s laws are clear: second-degree murder is a serious offense, particularly when children are involved, even if there was no direct intent to kill.
With sentences ranging from 10 to 30 years in prison, Colin Gray could face a lengthy stay behind bars for what many are calling his failure as a parent.
Polhamus said the boy’s mother, Marcee Gray, was visiting him at his Fitzgerald home when Colt sent a chilling message: “I’m sorry, mom.”
Marcee immediately called the school to warn them of an “extreme emergency,” but tragically, it was too late.
The Gateway Pundit reported:
According to reports, Marcee told family members via text messages that she called the high school the morning of the shooting and warned a counselor about an “extreme emergency” involving her 14-year-old son Colt Gray.
The claims are supported by call log data showing a 10-minute phone call from Marcee‘s phone to the school about half an hour before the gunman began firing.
The text message from Marcee reads, “ I was the one that notified the school counselor at the high school.”
“I told them it was an extreme emergency and for them to go immediately and find [my son] to check on him.”
Polhamus, however, had no such reservations. He squarely blamed Colt’s father, Colin, for not only destroying his family but also pushing his son to violence. “Collie Gray did this to his family, and he will rot in hell for it. That’s a fact,” Polhamus declared. “He needs the death penalty. He is probably one of the worst narcissists in the world.”
“He was a good kid turned bad in a bad situation. It’s sad. An environment that a kid grows up in has everything to do with their personality and what they become,” Polhamus said, adding that Colt had been subjected to years of verbal abuse by his father.
“Colt didn’t wake up one day and decide he was going to kill four people. No, he didn’t. He came out of an environment,” Polhamus insisted.
“I’m telling you, he was driven by his father to do what he did. That’s as plain as I can put it and I know I’m right.”
Polhamus described Colt as a remorseful, once-good kid who had been dragged down by his father’s influence. Yet despite his sympathy for his grandson, Polhamus had harsh words for Colin: “If I saw him today, I’d simply say: ‘I hope you rot in hell.’”
Marcee, who had battled her own demons with drug addiction, had split from Colin last year, claiming her children were finally “thriving” in his absence.
Polhamus alleged that Colin’s addiction to opiates, sparked by a back injury, had led him to drag Marcee into the depths of addiction as well, ultimately ruining their family.
“Living in that environment – they lost their house, he lost his job,” Polhamus said. “My daughter worked, they had a half-million-dollar farm before all this happened, and they lost it.”
Although Marcee has faced legal troubles herself, with a rap sheet stretching back decades, including drug possession and aggravated battery, Polhamus insisted she had turned her life around.
Clean for about a year and holding a stable job, Marcee was attempting to rebuild her life when this tragedy unfolded, according to The Post.
Authorities revealed that Colin gifted Colt the AR-15-style rifle used in the attack as a Christmas present.
The FBI has confirmed that Colt Gray was known to the agency as early as May 2023 after receiving “several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time.”
Colt Gray was then interviewed by a sheriff’s investigator in Jackson County after the FBI received a tip that Gray, then 13, had allegedly threatened to carry out a shooting at a middle school, according to the Daily Mail.
Following the investigation, the Jackson County officer urged Colt’s father to secure his firearms and keep them locked away. Additionally, authorities recommended that the teen be kept out of school until the matter could be fully resolved, as a precautionary measure.
His aunt, Annie Brown, told the Washington Post on Thursday that the boy had been “begging for help from everybody around him.” She revealed that he had been struggling with mental health issues.
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