Jackson County, Georgia, officers in 2023 spoke face-to-face with the boy who is now charged with felony murder in the deaths of four at Apalachee High School in Winder on Wednesday.

The sheriff’s officers described their interactions in a detailed investigation report from May 21, 2023, when suspect Colt Gray was 13 years old, after being tipped off by the FBI about a threat on the messaging app Discord of a threat to shoot up a middle school. Discord is popular with some video gamers.

Gray said he had previously deleted a Discord account and denied that he would make such a threat, “even in a joking manner,” according to the report.

Gray’s father, Colin, told the officers that he had hunting rifles in the house but that his son “does not have unfettered access to them.” The two guns were both “locked away,” the father told them. Authorities have said the shooting was carried out with an AR-style rifle.

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“I urged Colin to keep his firearms locked away, and advised him to keep Colt out of school until this matter could be resolved,” investigator Daniel Miller Jr. wrote.

Jackson County investigators could not substantiate the Discord threat, which came from a user profile that spelled Lanza in Russian, according to the report. Adam Lanza perpetrated the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012.

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The officer also found that the information sent to the FBI was communicated via various IP addresses across the world: Palmdale, California; Los Angeles; and Cockburn, Australia. He also reviewed the email address and phone number related to the case as well as the user profile linked to the threats. 

A screenshot from a video shows the weapon allegedly used in the mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. (Alexsandra Romero/Joel Romero via Storyful)

“At this time, due to the inconsistent nature of the information received by the FBI, the allegation that [the Apalachee shooting suspect or his father] is the user behind the Discord account that made the threat cannot be substantiated,” the investigating officer wrote in 2023. “This case will be exceptionally cleared.”

The FBI said Thursday that the bureau did not directly investigate the suspect behind the Georgia high school mass shooting this week but shared the anonymous tip with local law enforcement.

The report described the suspect as “quit (sic), calm and reserved while we spoke with him.” Colin Gray said his family had recently been evicted from their previous home, that he and his wife were divorced and that “she took the two younger kids.”

“Colin conveyed that his 13 year old son had some problems at West Jackson Middle School and now that he is going to Jefferson Middle School it has gotten a lot better,” the report reads.

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An FBI source told Fox News Digital that if there is no immediate threat to life, it is protocol to inform local law enforcement, provide information and have them investigate tips.

“There’s only so much you can do when you get those warnings,” former FBI agent Rob D’Amico told “FOX & Friends First” on Thursday. 

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Cars are parked on the side of a road as law enforcement officers work at the scene of a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. (REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage)

“The local officers went out and interviewed the father, interviewed the son. He denied making those online threats,” D’Amico continued. “The father said that the son did not have unfettered access to the weapons. They did what they could, and then they left because there was no probable cause to take other action.”

A spokesperson for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation told Fox News Digital that the parents of the suspected shooter “have been cooperative up until this point.” 

The comment came in response to a question about whether authorities are investigating the shooter’s parents in the wake of Wednesday’s attack, which left four dead and nine others injured.

The suspect has been booked into the Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center and was charged with four counts of felony murder ahead of his first court appearance Friday morning. The Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center is located about an hour north of Apalachee High School in Winder. 

Women weep during a vigil at Jug Tavern Park after the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. (Reuters/Elijah Nouvelage)

Matthew Fagiana, a retired police sergeant and law enforcement consultant, told Fox News Digital that officials are zeroing in on the 14-year-old suspect’s past and motive at the start of the investigation.

“Things such as the timeline of the incident, a chronological history of the suspect leading up to the shooting, a deep look into the suspect’s past for things such as interactions with the victims, the existence of any indications of violent behavior, statements or social media posts that could help them develop a motive, and recent internet history,” he said. 

“And that, of course, only scratches the surface of the investigation,” he added.

Fagiana noted that responding agencies, including the FBI’s Atlanta field office and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, are combing the scene of Apalachee High School to construct an “accurate picture” of the suspect’s pathway through the school.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Stepheny Price contributed to this report.

This is a developing story.

Colt Gray, the alleged gunman who opened fire at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, Georgia, killed four people and injured at least nine Wednesday morning when he began shooting at innocent victims inside the school, police say.

Officials said the four victims killed were two students, Mason Schermerhorn, 14, and Christian Angulo, 14, and two teachers, Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irmie.

Gray, a 14-year-old student at Apalachee High School and the sole suspect, opened fire using an “AR-platform style weapon,” according to GBI Director Chris Hosey.

During a press conference Wednesday evening, Hosey said that officials are still investigating where Gray obtained the weapon.

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A joint statement from the FBI’s Atlanta field office and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office was released on Wednesday and revealed that law enforcement received an anonymous tip in 2023 about online threats regarding a possible school shooting.

The subject referred to in the statement was a 13-year-old who “is the same subject in custody related to today’s shootings at Apalachee High School,” the FBI said.

“The FBI referred this information to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office for action,” Hosey said. 

“The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office identified and located Gray, who is our suspect in this case. They conducted an investigation at that time and there was no probable cause for arrest or to take any additional law enforcement action. This is not recent. This is in the past, but we wanted to bring that to your attention because we are pursuing that.”

In accordance with investigations, law enforcement is also looking into prior contact between Gray and his family and the Department of Family and Children Services, according to Hosey.

“This is still a very fluid investigation,” Hosey said. “It is still very active.”

At approximately 10:20 a.m., around two hours after classes at Apalachee had begun, the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of an active shooter.

“Within minutes, law enforcement was on scene as well as two school resource officers assigned here to the school,” Hosey said Wednesday afternoon. 

“Once they encountered the subject, the subject immediately surrendered to these officers, and he was taken into custody,” Hosey added.

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Cars are parked on the sides of a road as law enforcement officers work at the scene of a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, U.S. September 4, 2024.  (REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage)

Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said Wednesday night that teachers at Apalachee High School are individually armed with a Centegix ID which alerts law enforcement officers of an active incident when a button is pressed.

“The protocols at this school and this system activated today prevented this from being a much larger tragedy than what we had here today,” Hosey said.

“Those that are deceased are heroes in my book,” Hosey told reporters. “Those that are in the hospital recovering right now are heroes in my book.”

Hosey added that joined in heroism are the faculty and staff at Apalachee for their admirable efforts in acting quickly and protecting the lives of innocent students.

An ambulance departs Apalachee High School after a shooting at the school Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga.   (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

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Smith advised that Gray is being held at a detention center and will be transported to Regional Youth Detention Centers (RYDC) in Dalton. 

He will be charged with murder and prosecuted as an adult, according to Hosey.

“When someone preys on kids, it’s tragic,” Smith said. “Pure evil did what happened today.”

Local law enforcement is coordinating both the investigation and charges with District Attorney Brad Smith of the Piedmont Judicial Circuit.

“The priority right now for us, within this investigation, is to gather all the facts,” Hosey said. “This is a murder investigation.”

Surviving victims have been taken to local hospitals to be treated for various degrees of injury, according to law enforcement.

A Polk County, Florida, attorney was arrested for stealing nearly $2 million from a trust set up for a Pennsylvania brother and sister by their now-deceased father.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said during a press conference on Thursday afternoon that 47-year-old Jason Penrod of Family Elder Law has been arrested and charged with first-degree felony grand theft of over $100,000.

Judd said that his office had received complaints on July 25 and July 29 about Penrod that are still under investigation and pending the return of bank records.

But on Aug. 2, a complaint was filed with the Pennsylvania State Police, accusing Penrod of ripping off a brother and a sister who had a trust from their now-deceased father.

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Judd said that Penrod had flown to Pennsylvania to look the trustees in the eye and say, “I took your money. Not only did I take your money, I took $1.7 million. I wiped out the trust. But I’m going to pay it back.”

The sheriff also said Penrod told the siblings he had a gambling addiction and gambled the money away at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa.

After Penrod blamed the loss of money on his gambling addiction, he then said he would pay it back with interest like a “short-term-loan,” Judd said.

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Polk County, Florida Sheriff Grady Judd said during a press conference that attorney Jason Penrod swindled over $1.5 million from a trust for a pair of siblings in Pennsylvania whose now-deceased father had set up. (Polk County Sheriff Facebook)

The suspect also allegedly provided a litany of excuses, Judd explained, saying that he had repressed memories, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), trauma, numbness and stress.

When Penrod returned, he allegedly checked himself into a facility to be treated for his gambling addiction, and as the investigation continued, Judd’s investigators learned that there were at least two more victims, bringing the number of victims to four, and the total loss to about $4 million.

Judd said Penrod had agreed to give up his law license before refiling so he can make the money to pay it back.

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Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd alleged that attorney Jason Penrod gambled away millions of dollars put aside in trust funds. (Matthias Kulka)

“This guy’s delusional, among all of his other excuses,” Judd said.

The sheriff said his investigators and the state’s attorney are going to do what they can to send Penrod to prison “for a very long time.”

The one crime he has been charged with so far, grand theft of over $100,000, carries a maximum prison sentence of 30 years.

Adding to the number of excuses Penrod allegedly gave for draining the account, Judd said the suspect considered suing the Hard Rock for letting him gamble there.

“Now, you tell me that this guy doesn’t have a hitch in his giddy up,” Judd said. “He’s got about five brain cells, and three of them he left in the Hard Rock. And now, he’s locked up and going to prison. That’s our goal.”

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Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said he plans to send to prison an attorney who swindled millions from a trust fund. (iStock)

Judd provided additional details about the alleged swindles that Penrod is accused of conducting.

One of the victims is a 93-year-old woman whose husband and two sons died. One of the sons had left his mother a trust to help take care of her. That money is now at the Hard Rock, according to Judd.

“Jason stole the money, and by his own confession, he was spending the money at the Hard Rock,” the sheriff said. “Now he’s trying to hide behind mental illness. He’s not mentally ill. He’s a thief. He’s an absolute thief.”

Judd said the investigation into Penrod is underway, and it is unknown how many other cases or victims there may be.

He also said there may be people who lost money and do not even know they lost the money because they get paid out only once or twice a year.

Still, Judd alleges that Penrod stole millions of dollars.

“The worst kind of criminal is the one that hides behind a coat and a tie and steals money with a law license or a professional license of any kind,” Judd said. “So, at the end of the day, Jason, you’re not going to have a royal flush, but you have a jailhouse flush that’s guaranteed from us.”