The FBI says a boy accused of killing four people at a Georgia high school was interviewed by police last year over anonymous online threats.
Colt Gray, 14, denied to police in May 2023 that he was behind an online post that contained images of guns and warned of school shootings.
Investigators say a suspect opened fire Wednesday at Apalachee High School in Winder, killing two teachers and two students. Nine other people were injured, including eight students and a teacher.
He was arrested on campus and will be charged as an adult.
Police identified the victims as teachers Christina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall, and 14-year-old students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo.
At a press conference, Chris Horsey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said the gun used was an “AR platform weapon.”
The FBI said in a statement that its National Threat Operations Center issued an alert to local law enforcement in May 2023 after receiving an anonymous tip about “online threats to commit school shootings at unknown locations and times.”
The agency said investigators determined within 24 hours that the threat originated in Georgia.
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U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySheriff’s deputies interviewed the boy and his father, who “stated he had shotguns in the house but the subject was unable to use them without supervision,” the FBI said.
The suspect, who was 13 at the time, denied making the threats online, and officials “reminded local schools to continue monitoring the incident.”
“At that time, there was no probable cause to make an arrest and no additional law enforcement action was taken at the local, state or federal level,” the FBI statement added.
Sheriff Jud Smith described the attack as “pure evil” and said police responded to a 911 call at 10:20 local time (14:20 GMT) minutes after He rushed to the scene immediately.
Two officers dispatched to the school “immediately encountered the boy,” the sheriff said, adding that the boy “immediately surrendered.”
Sheriff Smith said the boy was interviewed while in custody and spoke to investigators once.
The sheriff added that a motive has not been determined and law enforcement is not aware of “any targets at this time.”
Students described chaotic scenes as an attacker was alerted on campus. Apalachee schools began classes last month, but many students across the United States will return to school this week.
Lyela Sayarath, who was in the alleged attacker’s class, told CNN that the suspect left the classroom at the beginning of the algebra class.
She said he came back and knocked on the door, which locked itself, but another student refused to let him in after discovering he had a gun.
Leila told CNN that the attacker then went to the classroom next door and started shooting.
Marques Coleman, 14, said he saw the attacker holding a “big gun” just before the shooting.
“I stood up and started running and he started shooting, about 10 times. He shot at least 10 times,” he told BBC America partner CBS News.
“My teacher started blocking the door with desks,” he said.
After standing up, the student said he saw “one of my classmates on the ground bleeding profusely,” another girl had been shot in the leg and a friend had been shot in the abdomen.
A vigil was held Wednesday night in the city of 18,000 residents, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Atlanta.
