2024 Apalachee High School shooting

Colt Gray, a 14-year-old freshman at Apalachee High School, was arrested and charged with four counts of murder and multiple other charges. He is being tried as an adult. Gray had a troubled upbringing, marked by family instability. His father was reportedly abusive, and his mother struggled with drug addiction.

In May 2023, the FBI received anonymous tips about online threats made by Gray, including pictures of guns and threats to commit a school shooting. Although he was interviewed by the authorities, no arrest was made due to the lack of probable cause. His father assured investigators that Gray did not have unsupervised access to firearms. However, Gray later received a semi-automatic rifle as a Christmas present from his father, who now faces charges of negligence related to the incident.

On the morning of the shooting, Gray made a concerning comment in his first-period class, asking how the school would respond to an active shooter. He then left the classroom, changed into yellow plastic gloves in a restroom, and retrieved a semi-automatic rifle concealed in a rolled-up poster board. He opened fire in the algebra classroom, resulting in four deaths and multiple injuries. Gray was apprehended by a school resource officer shortly after the shooting.