Georgia
WATCH: Cops Grill Colt Gray on School Shooting Threat Last Year
Footage has emerged of the 14-year-old suspect in a Georgia school shooting being interviewed by police over online threats of a similar attack more than a year ago.
Deputies with Jackson County’s Sheriff’s Office in Winder, Georgia, visited the home of Colt Gray, then 13, in May 2023 following a tip-off from the FBI that somebody had posted on Discord about planning to “shoot up a middle school tomorrow.”
Gray has now been charged with the murder of four people—two students, and two teachers—in a shooting spree that also saw nine others wounded at the town’s Apalachee High School. Local police say Gray has admitted “I did it” while being interrogated after his arrest on September 4, while his mother has claimed to have warned the school around half an hour before the attack took place.
In the bodycam footage of the 2023 visit—released by the sheriff’s office on Monday, and shared online by NBC and other outlets—Gray denied posting the comments on Discord, assuring them: “I would never say something like that,” and insisting that he had deleted his account on the chat platform several months earlier.
One of the deputies responded by telling the teenager: “I got no choice but to take you at your word right now, but like I was telling your dad if we found out otherwise, then it’s a different story.”
Colt’s father, Colin Gray also appears in the footage, telling officers that despite being bullied his son was “doing really good” at school. Colin Gray has since been arrested on four counts of manslaughter, two of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children in the wake of the killings earlier this month.
The father told officers during the visit last year that his son had been struggling with family-related stress at the time, following his parents’ separation and subsequent eviction from their home.
He added that he’d been training his son in the “responsible” use of firearms, taking him on hunting trips in an effort to get him out of the house and to stop playing video games.
“We do a lot of shooting, we do a lot of deer hunting. He shot his first deer this year,” Gray is heard to say in a longer clip of the interview, shared by CNN. “I don’t know anything about him saying sh-t like that [but] I’m gonna be mad as hell if he did,” he added.
Colt’s grandfather, Charles Polhamus, has since described Colin as “evil,” alleging he drove the 14-year-old “to do what he did” last week through a relentless campaign of psychological and physical abuse. His aunt, Annie Polhaumus Brown, has also spoken about her nephew’s troubled childhood, and vowed to stand by him at trial.
If convicted, Colt faces up to life in prison, with his father facing a maximum total of 180 years behind bars.
Georgia
DHS appears to axe plan to construct immigration detention megacenter in small Georgia town
Georgia
Proposed Georgia bill restricts voting to U.S. citizens
GEORGIA, Ga. (WALB) — A new bill introduced to the Georgia Senate could create a constitutional amendment to restrict voting to legal U.S. citizens.
The bill, Senate Resolution 4EX says, “No person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people.”
If passed, Georgians will vote on the constitutional amendment in the November election.
Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger said “I have been calling on the legislature for years to pass this amendment to the state constitution. I am glad to see the legislature finally act to ensure only American citizens are voting in our elections.”
According to Raffensperger, Georgia was the first state in the nation to conduct citizen verification of voter rolls. Since 2022, Raffensperger’s office conducted two citizenship audits of Georgia’s voter rolls.
SR 4EX Text
“Casting a vote is one of the most important elements of American citizenship. Any illegal vote dilutes the value of a citizen’s lawfully cast ballot. U.S. Citizens should decide Georgia elections. Period. I urge the legislature to pass this important legislation.”
The state uses information from the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) to identify people who are non-citizens. This data is based on documents provided to DDS, through its REAL ID drivers licenses or state identification cards.
That information is also ran through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to verify an individual’s citizenship status.
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Georgia
Social media reacts to Oklahoma’s dominant win over Georgia
The Oklahoma Sooners left no doubt in their 11-4 win over the Georgia Bulldogs to advance to the College World Series finals. It is OU’s second trip to the finals since 2022 but this one feels far more improbable.
A bubble team toward the end of the regular season and down 8-2 in an elimination game against Georgia Tech, Oklahoma has defied the odds and powered its way to the finals in Omaha. On Wednesday night, the Sooners hit five home runs against a Bulldogs team that led the nation in home runs per game this season.
Jason Walk got the home run party started, and Dasan Harris hit a pair of two-run bombs to help Oklahoma separate from one of the best teams in college baseball.
From the mound, freshman Nick Wesloski put together a strong performance for the Sooners, allowing just one earned run in 5.2 innings pitched. L.J. Mercurius worked 3.1 and allowed just one earned run against the vaunted Georgia offense.
Everything is clicking for Oklahoma heading into the finals, which begins on Saturday. They’ll face a good North Carolina Tar Heels for all the marbles. But before we get to the championship series, here’s a look at how social media reacted to the Sooners win over Georgia.
Playing for a Natty
Incredible Job by Skip Johnson
Definition of Team
Just Unreal
Got Hot at the Right Time
The Moment from the Dugout
Freshmen Phenoms
Nothing Easy, Everything Earned
Team of Destiny?
Exceeding All Expectations
Dasan Harris is that Dude
Incredible Story
Sooner Magic is alive and well
Playing for a trophy
Time to lay it all on the line
Just doing ridiculous things
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly known as Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
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