In an interview with The New York Post on Saturday, Charles Polhamus, the grandfather of Georgia school shooter Colt Gray, blamed the boy’s father, Colin Gray, and called for his execution.
Polhamus, 81, described Colin Gray as the driving force behind the tragedy, insisting the father’s harmful behavior led his grandson down a dark path.
Authorities announced Thursday that Colin Gray, 54, a former Marine and father of 14-year-old Colt Gray, faces multiple charges following the horrific tragedy at Apalachee High School, which left four dead and nine others injured.
Charges against the father, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), include four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children.
The state law is clear: second-degree murder is a serious offense, especially if children are involved, even if there is no direct intent to kill.
With a sentence ranging from 10 to 30 years in prison, Colin Gray could face a long stay behind bars for what many call a failure as a parent.
Polhamus said the boy’s mother, Marcee Gray, was visiting her at Fitzgerald’s home when Colt sent a heartwarming message: “I’m sorry, mom.”
Marcee immediately called the school to warn them of the “extreme emergency,” but tragically, it was too late.
The Gateway Pundit reported:
According to reports, Marcee told family members via text message that she called the high school the morning of the shooting and warned a counselor of an “extreme emergency” involving her 14-year-old son Colt Gray.
The claim is supported by call log data that shows a 10-minute call from Marcee’s phone to the school about half an hour before the gunman started shooting.
The text message from Marcee read, “I told the school counselor at the high school.”
“I told him it was an emergency and for him to find (my son) right away to check on him.”
Polhamus, however, had no such reservations. He blames Colt’s father, Colin, for not only destroying his family, but pushing his son into violence. “Collie Gray did this to her family, and she’s going to rot in hell. That’s the truth,” Polhamus said. “He needs the death penalty. He’s probably one of the worst narcissists in the world.
“He’s a good kid who turns bad in a bad situation. It’s sad. The environment a child grows up in has a lot to do with his personality and what he becomes,” Polhamus said, adding that Colt had been verbally abused by his father for years.
“One day Colt didn’t wake up and decide he was going to kill four people. No, he didn’t. He got out of the neighborhood,” Polhamus insisted.
“I said, his father encouraged him to do what he did. That’s what I said and I know I’m right.
Polhamus described Colt as a remorseful, once good boy who has been dragged down by his father’s influence. But despite his sympathy for his grandson, Polhamus has harsh words for Colin: “If I see him today, I’ll just say: ‘May you rot in hell.’
Marcee, who has battled her own demons with drug addiction, split from Colin last year, claiming their children had finally “progressed” in his absence.
Polhamus alleged that Colin’s addiction to opiates, triggered by a back injury, had led him to drag Marcee into the depths of addiction as well, ultimately destroying the family.
“Living in that environment – they lost their homes, they lost their jobs,” Polhamus said. “My daughter was working, she had a half a million dollar farm before this happened, and she was gone.”
Although Marcee has faced legal trouble of her own, with a decades-long rap sheet, including drug possession and aggravated battery, Polhamus insists she has turned her life around.
Clean for about a year and holding down a stable job, Marcee was trying to rebuild when this tragedy struck, according to The Post.
Authorities say Colin gave Colt the AR-15-style rifle used in the attack as a Christmas present.
The FBI has confirmed that Colt Gray has been known to the agency since May 2023 after receiving “several anonymous tips about an online threat to carry out a school shooting at an unknown location and time.”
Colt Gray was later interviewed by sheriff’s investigators in Jackson County after the FBI received a tip that Gray, then 13, had allegedly threatened to commit a shooting at a middle school, according to the Daily Mail.
Following the investigation, Jackson County officials urged Colt’s father to secure the firearm and keep it locked away. In addition, the authorities recommended that the teenager stay out of school until the problem is fully resolved, as a precautionary measure.
His aunt, Annie Brown, told the Washington Post on Thursday that the boy was “begging everyone around him for help.” He revealed that he has struggled with mental health issues.
