The 14-year-old Georgia boy who opened fire at a classroom in his school, killing two students and two teachers, was raised in a troubled home, family and neighbours have said.
His father, Colin Gray, bought him the AR-15 rifle he used for the shooting as a Christmas gift even after the cops had previously investigated the child for threatening to shoot people at his school in 2023.
His mother, Marcee, had been arrested several times on drug use and domestic violence charges.
A neighbour described the mother as neglectful and abusive towards her children, saying she would regularly lock Gray and his siblings out of the house and refuse to let them in.
“They would be banging on the back door, just screaming like ‘Mom! mom! mom!’ and crying. It was absolutely devastating,” she told the New York Post, adding that sometimes the children would beg for food from neighbours.
His mother’s lengthy criminal history, which spanned 17 years, includes charges of domestic violence, drug possession, property damage and various traffic violations, including drink driving. She was in jail as recently as April
“I would find her in the driveway, passed out, with the car running and blaring music early in the morning,” the neighbour said, adding that the woman would drive her younger son to daycare while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
She said Gray didn’t speak much about the abuse or acted aggressively, but she’d often see him missing school and wandering around the empty house or the forest.
“He wasn’t a bully or a mean kid. He didn’t say much. He was so quiet,” she said.
Gray’s maternal grandfather, however, blamed the teen’s father, saying Gray was “just a good kid” who lived in an environment that was hostile.”
“His dad beat up on him, I mean, I’m not talking about physical, but screaming and hollering, and he did the same thing to my daughter,” he told CNN, but added that the teen never showed any signs of anger.
Gray’s aunt told the Washington Post that her nephew was struggling with mental health issues, and had been “begging for help from everybody around him” months before the shooting.