Georgia shooting suspect’s mom praises son in open letter to victims, insists he’s ‘not a monster’

After her last-minute warning proved insufficient to prevent tragedy at a Georgia high school, the mother of the 14-year-old alleged killer contested her son “is not a monster” in an open apology letter.

On the morning of Sept. 4 at Apalachee High School, 14-year-old students Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn, as well as 39-year-old Richard Aspinwell and 53-year-old Christina Irimie were fatally shot while nine others were wounded.

A week later, Marcee Gray, the mother of the teen suspect facing four counts of murder and being charged as an adult, spoke about the “living nightmare” being experienced as she shared her prayers and asked for those of the members of the grieving community.

“To the parents and families of those affected by the tragic events at Apalachee High School, I want to say that I am so sorry from the bottom of my heart,” began the letter provided to CNN. “If I could take the place of Mason and Christian, I would without a second thought.”

“As a parent, I’ve always said that the loss of one of my children would be the only thing that I wouldn’t be able to come back from. I feel all of your pain and devastation. I grieve and cry with you. My heart breaks for the two teachers who gave their lives while in the service of teaching and protecting our children,” she went on.

Turning to address her sentiments toward her son, Gray wrote, “We are all in a living nightmare right now, and I will personally never forgive myself for what has happened. My son Colt is not a monster. He is my oldest baby. He is quiet, thoughtful, caring, funny, and extremely intelligent. Please pray for him and the rest of our family, as I am praying for all of you every moment of every day. Love is the only thing that will gut us through this tragedy.”

It was reported that the morning of the tragedy, the mother had reached out to the school counselor about the “extreme emergency and for them to go immediately and find [her son] to check on him,” as she herself had received a text from her son that read, “I’m sorry, mom.”

Gray’s warning came as the counselor told her how earlier that morning a teacher had notified the office about the teen “making references to school shootings.”

While she appeared to seek pity for her son, the same could not be said of the suspect’s maternal grandfather toward the father, Colin Gray. Facing four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children, the elder Gray had the death penalty wished upon him by Charles Polhamus.

“Spending 11 years with that son of a b*tch screaming and hollering every day — it can affect anybody,” the grandfather told the New York Post. “He’s evil.”

“Colt has to pay for what he did, but I’m telling you, he was driven, no question in my mind. He was driven by his father to do what he did. That’s as plain as I can put it,” the man added, “and I know I’m right.”

At the time of this post, neither the father nor the son have entered a plea and they are being held without bail with their next expected hearing scheduled for Dec. 4.

Kevin Haggerty

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