‘My son Colt is not a monster’: Mother of Apalachee High shooting suspect apologizes in letter
ATLANTA (WANF/Gray News) - The mother of the suspected Apalachee High School shooter penned a letter to parents to apologize for her son’s alleged actions.
Wednesday marks a week since the deadly shooting at the Georgia school, which took the lives of two teachers and two students and hospitalized nine others.
Marcee Gray said she would take the place of those who died if she could — and she also said that her son, Colt Gray, “is not a monster.”
Read Marcee Gray’s full letter:
To the parents and families of those affected by the tragic events at Apalachee High School, I want to say that I am so sorry from the bottom of my heart. If I could take the place of Mason and Christian, I would without a second thought. As a parent, I’ve always said that the loss of one of my children would be the only thing that I wouldn’t be able to come back from. I feel all of your pain and devastation. I grieve and cry with you. My heart breaks for the two teachers who gave their lives while in the service of teaching and protecting our children. We are all in a living nightmare right now, and I will personally never forgive myself for what has happened. My son Colt is not a monster. He is my oldest baby. He is quiet, thoughtful, caring, funny, and extremely intelligent. Please pray for him and the rest of our family, as I am praying for all of you every moment of every day. Love is the only thing that will get us through this tragedy.
Colt faces four counts of murder. He is accused of killing teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14.
His father, Colin Gray, was also arrested in connection to the shooting and faces four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children. Investigators said they believe he gave Colt access to the gun that he allegedly used to carry out the shooting.
“I appreciate the mother for apologizing, but to be honest, it wasn’t her fault. She already let the school know what was going on and everything,” said Apalachee High School senior Roderick Oglesby.
“The apology is appreciated, but now, the damage is done, and it’s easy to try to fix somebody when they’re physically hurt, but when they’re mentally hurt, it’s stages you have to go through,” said Apalachee High parent Shameika Scott.
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