NEWS EXPRESS is Nigeria’s leading online newspaper. Published by Africa’s international award-winning journalist, Mr. Isaac Umunna, NEWS EXPRESS is Nigeria’s first truly professional online daily newspaper. It is published from Lagos, Nigeria’s economic and media hub, and has a provision for occasional special print editions. Thanks to our vast network of sources and dedicated team of professional journalists and contributors spread across Nigeria and overseas, NEWS EXPRESS has become synonymous with newsbreaks and exclusive stories from around the world.
A 14-year-old boy has been charged with killing four people in a US high school shooting, while his father faces manslaughter charges, CNN reported on Thursday.
Colin Gray, 54, is facing multiple charges, including four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).
His son, Colt Gray, a 14-year-old student, is accused of using an AR-style rifle to kill two students and two teachers in the attack that took place on Wednesday at the Apalachee High School in the southern state of Georgia.
Seven others, including six students and a teacher, were shot and injured, while two additional students sustained non-gunshot-related injuries, authorities confirmed.
The teenager faces four counts of felony murder, according to charging documents obtained by CNN. The GBI and Barrow County Sheriffs Office have stated that he is expected to be tried as an adult.
GBI Director Chris Hosey said at a news conference on Thursday that the charges against Colin are based on allegations that he knowingly allowed his son to possess a weapon.
Two law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation disclosed to CNN that Colin told investigators he had bought the gun used in the shootings as a holiday gift for his son in December 2023.
According to one source, the AR-15-style rifle was purchased at a local gun store as a Christmas present.
The timeline provided by the teens father suggests that the gun was purchased months after authorities had first contacted Gray and his family to investigate online threats of a school shooting allegedly made by the teen.
The Jackson County Sheriffs Office in Georgia ended the investigation after determining that the tip about the threat could not be substantiated.
This latest school shooting, occurring just weeks into the new academic year, marks the 45thsuch incident in the US this year and the most devastating since the March 2023 shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, where six people were killed.
Authorities reported on Thursday that the nine individuals injured in the incident are expected to make a full recovery. (The PUNCH)
Law enforcement officials arrive to give a press conference outside of Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on September 4, 2024, after a shooting took place. (Photo by CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA / AFP)
