Southeast
Georgia father on trial, accused of giving son rifle before school shooting
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A Georgia father went on trial Monday, as he stands accused of enabling the 2024 high school shooting that left two students and two teachers dead by giving his teenage son access to a rifle despite repeated warning signs.
Colin Gray faces nearly 30 felony counts, including second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children, in connection with the Sept. 4 attack at Apalachee High School in Winder. Prosecutors argue his decision to arm his son directly led to the killings.
“This is not a case about holding parents accountable for what their children do,” Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith told jurors during opening statements. “This case is about this defendant and his actions in allowing a child that he has custody over access to a firearm and ammunition after being warned that that child was going to harm others.”
Under Georgia law, second-degree murder can apply when someone causes the death of a child while committing cruelty to children — the underlying felony prosecutors allege in this case. Smith told jurors the charges are structured around the victims, tying cruelty-to-children counts to the deaths of the students and reckless-conduct allegations to involuntary manslaughter counts for the slain teachers.
UVALDE TRIAL HALTED AFTER KEY WITNESS CHANGES TESTIMONY
District Attorney Brad Smith points to a weapon displayed on a screen during the first day of the trial of Colin Gray, at the Barrow County courthouse, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, in Winder, Ga. (Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Investigators have said Colt Gray, 14 at the time, brought a semiautomatic rifle to school in his backpack, left class and opened fire in a classroom and hallways. Two school resource officers took him into custody, authorities said.
Defense attorney Brian Hobbs argued the teen hid his plans from his father.
“You cannot hold someone criminally responsible for failing to predict what was intentionally hidden from them,” Hobbs said.
Prosecutors pointed to what they described as a pattern of escalating red flags that were not acted upon.
JURY REACHES VERDICT IN TRIAL OF EX-UVALDE SCHOOL POLICE OFFICER ACCUSED OF FAILING TO CONFRONT GUNMAN
In 2021, Colt Gray used a school computer to search “how to kill your dad,” Smith said. In May 2023, authorities investigated an online shooting threat traced to a computer at the Gray home after receiving a tip from the FBI. Colt Gray denied making the threat and said his account had been hacked, according to prosecutors. Smith said investigators asked Colin Gray at the time to restrict his son’s access to guns.
Colin Gray looks down as his attorney gives his opening statement in the courtroom at the Barrow County courthouse, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, in Winder, Ga. (Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Despite those incidents, prosecutors allege Colin Gray gave his son the rifle as a Christmas gift later that year and continued buying accessories, including what Smith described as “a lot of ammunition.”
Smith also told jurors that on the morning of the shooting, Colt’s mother called the school after receiving alarming text messages and warned a counselor that her son had access to firearms, prompting administrators to begin searching for him.
FORMER UVALDE SCHOOL OFFICER SAYS HE DOESN’T REGRET ACTIONS AFTER NOT GUILTY VERDICT
Prosecutors have said Colin Gray knew his son was obsessed with school shooters and had received a troubling text weeks before the attack that read: “Whenever something happens, just know the blood is on your hands.”
An investigator testified that Gray was aware his son’s mental health had deteriorated and had sought counseling services.
“This is not a case about holding parents accountable for what their children do,” Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith told jurors during opening statements. (Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
“We have had a very difficult past couple of years and he needs help. Anger, anxiety, quick to be volatile. I don’t know what to do,” Gray wrote, according to testimony.
Smith told jurors that despite those concerns, Gray did not pursue inpatient treatment for his son.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The trial is being held in Barrow County, where the shooting occurred, with jurors brought in from neighboring Hall County due to pretrial publicity.
Colt Gray is behind bars while awaiting his own trial. Day 2 of testimony in his father’s trial will proceed later Tuesday.
The case is among a growing number nationwide in which prosecutors are seeking to hold parents criminally responsible in deadly school shootings.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Read the full article from Here
Southeast
Dem governor under fire after illegal alien allegedly stabs woman to death at bus stop: ‘Heinous’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security is calling on Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger to ensure local law enforcement cooperates with federal immigration officials by handing over an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal record who allegedly killed a woman earlier this week at a Virginia bus stop.
Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, arrested an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone earlier this week on charges of second-degree murder after he allegedly fatally stabbed a woman, Stephanie Minter, 41, who was found dead at a local bus stop with several wounds to the upper body.
The alleged suspect, Abdul Jalloh, 32, also has a criminal history of more than 30 arrests, according to DHS, including for rape, malicious wounding, assault, identity theft, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, assault and pick-pocketing.
The request from the Trump administration comes after the newly elected Democratic governor of Virginia signed an executive order to end cooperation between federal immigration officials and state and local law enforcement, a move several Democratic Party governors have taken recently amid President Donald Trump’s move to increase deportation operations around the country.
The DHS request asking Virginia officials to cooperate with ICE also comes after an illegal immigrant allegedly murdered someone just days after being released from jail for a separate crime in December.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, and Gov. Abigail Spanberger (Department of Homeland Security/Getty Images)
“We are calling on Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Virginia’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this murderer and violent career criminal from their jail without notifying ICE,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis.
“This illegal alien’s murder of an innocent, beautiful American woman came less than 24 hours before Governor Spanberger’s demonization of ICE law enforcement. This heinous criminal is a perfect example of why we need cooperation from sanctuary jurisdictions and the importance of third country removals for the safety of the American people.”
Spanberger’s representatives did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Jalloh entered the United States illegally in 2012, according to DHS, and immigration officials lodged an immigration detainer against him in 2020, whereupon he was granted a final order of removal by a judge who said he could be removed to any country other than Sierra Leone.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WITH PRIOR DEPORTATION SHOOTS DEPUTY IN CHEST, DIES AFTER EXCHANGE: DHS
Protesters, using whistles to alert neighborhoods to ICE activity, face off with Minneapolis police officers in Minneapolis Jan. 24, 2026. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
DHS indicated that ICE cooperation to ensure Jalloh’s deportation is evident after a case Fox News covered in December when a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador, Marvin Morales-Ortez, 23, allegedly killed a man just a day after Fairfax County jail officials let him go.
The immigrant from El Salvador had been in custody on charges of malicious wounding and brandishing a gun, but police released him after the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, led by George Soros-backed prosecutor Steve Descano, dropped the charges.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Fairfax County Sheriff’s office to inquire about why the man had not been handed over to ICE.
The sheriff’s office said, “ICE was aware of Morales-Ortez’s incarceration and elected not to seek a judicial warrant to ensure he remained in custody.
Marvin Morales-Ortez, who is living in the country illegally, was released from Fairfax County custody and then allegedly committed a murder the next day. (Fairfax County Police Department/Getty Images)
“The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office follows all local, state and federal laws when determining whether a person is subject to release from the ADC,” the sheriff’s office told Fox News Digital at the time. “Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is automatically notified any time a person is booked into the ADC.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The same sheriff’s office did not get back to Fox News Digital’s media inquiry for this story on DHS urging officials to cooperate with federal officials.
Related Article
Read the full article from Here
Southeast
Illegal immigrant arrested after showing up to Florida Border Patrol office for contract IT work
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
FIRST ON FOX: An illegal immigrant who reported to a U.S. Border Patrol site in Florida to perform some Information technology contractual work was arrested when authorities were made aware of his citizenship status, officials said.
Angel Camacho, a Venezuelan citizen, reported to a USBP center in Dania Beach, Florida, Jan. 6 to do some IT work when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials began vetting him, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News Digital.
During its investigation, it was revealed Camacho was in violation of U.S. immigration laws, authorities said.
Angel Camacho reported to a Florida U.S. Border Patrol center to perform contractual work when he was arrested, a Department of Homeland Security official said. (Getty Images )
“CBP vets all external visitors before allowing them to enter secure facilities to ensure safety and operational integrity,” DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.
“During the vetting process, CBP uncovered this individual was a tourist visa overstay in the country for over five years.”
SCHUMER, DEMS AGAIN BLOCK DHS FUNDING, FORCE STATE OF THE UNION SHOWDOWN
This photo shows a U.S. Border Patrol patch on a border agent’s uniform in McAllen, Texas, Jan. 15, 2019. (Suzanne CordeiroAFP via Getty Images)
Camacho was arrested and transferred to ICE custody, Bis said.
His criminal history includes theft and resisting a Florida Highway Patrol officer, officials said. Federal authorities have nabbed several illegal immigrants in the process of trying to obtain employment in law enforcement and education.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
One Sierra Leone citizen was recently arrested as he was training to become a Pennsylvania corrections officer.
Another illegal immigrant, Ian Roberts, served as the former superintendent of Iowa’s largest district, Des Moines Public Schools, before he was arrested by ICE.
Related Article
Read the full article from Here
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A Georgia high school teacher was arrested Wednesday after allegations of inappropriate contact between a teacher and a minor student surfaced at Lee County High School.
Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, is charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee, agent or foster parent, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI).
Lee County High School requested the Leesburg Police Department investigate the allegations on Feb. 3, and the GBI was called to assist the following day.
Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, Ga., is charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee. (Lee County Sheriff’s Office)
Investigators identified Weaver as the “subject,” and identified the victim as a student under 18 years old at Lee County High School, according to officials.
GBI agents continued the investigation along with the Leesburg Police Department, and arrest warrants were obtained for Weaver on Tuesday.
A Google Maps street view photo of Lee County High School in Leesburg, Ga. (Google Maps)
NEBRASKA TEACHER ALLEGEDLY OFFERED TO ‘SHARE’ BOYFRIEND WITH STUDENT IN SEX TRAFFICKING CASE
Weaver turned herself in to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, and was later released on bond, according to a report from WALB News.
This investigation is active and ongoing, according to the GBI.
The incident allegedly happened at a high school in Georgia. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Once complete, the case file will be given to the Southwestern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
Leesburg is located in South Georgia, and is about an hour and a half north of Tallahassee, Florida.
Lee County High School’s communications team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Related Article
Read the full article from Here
‘The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins’ falls before it rises — but then it soars
Xiaomi 17 is a small(ish) phone with a big(ish) battery
World leaders split over military action as US-Israel strike Iran in coordinated operation
Iran fires missiles at US bases across Middle East after American strikes on nuclear, IRGC sites
Common nighttime noise exposure may trigger heart problems, study suggests
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Iran fires missiles at US bases across Middle East after American strikes on nuclear, IRGC sites
Israel strikes two schools in Iran, killing more than 50 people
Anthropic CEO says he’s sticking to AI “red lines” despite clash with Pentagon
ICE blasts Washington mayor over directive restricting immigration enforcement
Did the EU bypass Hungary’s veto on Ukraine’s €90 billion loan?
-
World3 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts3 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Montana1 week ago2026 MHSA Montana Wrestling State Championship Brackets And Results – FloWrestling
-
Louisiana5 days agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Denver, CO3 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Technology1 week agoYouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes
-
Technology1 week agoStellantis is in a crisis of its own making
-
Politics1 week agoOpenAI didn’t contact police despite employees flagging mass shooter’s concerning chatbot interactions: REPORT