14-year-old suspect in Georgia shooting had affinity for mass shooters: Sources

The teenage suspect in the shooting at Apalachee High School on Wednesday that left four dead had an apparent affinity for mass shooters, multiple sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News.

Investigators are currently scouring social media posts that mention prior mass shootings and those who carried them out from accounts associated with the suspect, who officials previously identified as 14-year-old Colt Gray, the sources said.

Over a year before Wednesday's incident -- in May 2023 -- the FBI reached out to the local authorities at the Jackson County Sheriff's Office after a Discord user alerted the Bureau about a possible threat of a shooting at a middle school.

The 2023 FBI tip about online threats that were traced to Colt Gray included a user profile written in Russian, sources said. Investigators with the Jackson County Sheriff's Department said at the time that the translation of the Russian letters spells out the name Lanza, referring to Adam Lanza, the mass shooter at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The 2023 documents, released Thursday, reflect how Colt Gray's father, Colin Gray, was very concerned about his son being "picked on" and "ridiculed" day after day at school.

Gray said that was why he repeatedly visited his son's school in 2023.

When the deputy spoke with Colt Gray, the then-13-year-old told the officer he had a Discord account but had deleted it months earlier, before they moved to a new home.

"I promise I would never say something [like that]," Colt Gray said of the reported school shooting threat, according to a transcript of his interview with the officer.

The officer then told Colt Gray, "I gotta take you at your word, and I hope you're being honest with me."

"Oh yes, sir," Colt Gray responded.

During the interview, the investigator asked Colin Gray directly if the weapons in the house were accessible to the teen, to which the father responded, "They are. I mean there's nothing loaded but they are down," according to a transcript of his interview.

Colin Gray said the two "do a lot of deer hunting" and that his son "knows the seriousness of weapons and what they can do and how to use them and not use them."

"I don't know anything about him saying s--- like that I'm going to be mad as hell if he did [make the threats] and then all the guns will go away and they won't be accessible to him," Colin Gray said. "We're trying to teach him about firearms and safety and how to do it all, and get him interested in the outdoors."

In the report on the investigation, the deputy stated: "Colin informed me that he does have firearms in the house, but that they are hunting rifles. He stated that Colt is allowed to use them when supervised but does not have unfettered access to them. I urged Colin to keep his firearms locked away."

According to the 2023 interview, Colin Gray told the deputy that the family -- and Colt Gray in particular -- were going through a hard time, with the teen's mother moving away with two of his younger siblings after the whole family was evicted from their home.

Annie Brown, the aunt of Colt Gray, told ABC News on Thursday that her nephew was "begging for help from everybody around him."

Colt Gray's maternal grandfather, Charles Polhamus, told ABC News on Thursday that he believes the teenager's father bears some responsibility.

"I put the blame where it belongs. His father should be convicted as well," he said.

Colin Gray was arrested Thursday and charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. Colin Gray is accused of "knowingly allowing his son, Colt, to possess a weapon," GBI Director Chris Hosey said Thursday. Investigators believe Gray received the AR-style gun used in the shooting as a Christmas present from his father, according to sources.

Colt Gray was taken into custody on Wednesday at the school. He was charged with four counts of felony murder, with more charges to be filed in connection to the surviving victims, prosecutors said.

ABC News couldn't immediately determine if either had legal representation.

ABC News Vera Drymon contributed to this report.