A teen was taken into custody this week for having a firearm at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia −the site where 14-year-old Colt Gray is accused of shooting four people dead in September.
The unidentified student was arrested on Wednesday after he was discovered to have the gun on school property, according to the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office.
He is facing charges, including two counts of possession of a weapon on school grounds, minor in possession of a firearm, and theft by taking, the sheriff’s office said. School resource officers took the student, also 14, into custody just after 2 p.m.
“The student was cooperative and compliant when encountered by law enforcement officers and there has been no reports of the student threatening anyone with a gun,” the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office noted.
The teen was taken to a local youth detention center.
Officials announce school closure following arrest
The arrest prompted school officials to cancel classes on Thursday and schedule a board meeting on school safety.
“We understand this brings up many different feelings in each of us,” Barrow County School System superintendent Dallas LeDuff said in a statement.
The Barrow County Board of Education plans to hold a meeting Thursday afternoon to discuss “the immediate safety enhancement options for our schools,” LeDuff added.
The incident comes months after Gray opened fire on Sept. 4, killing two students and two teachers. The victims were identified as 14-year-old Mason Schermerhorn, 14-year-old Christian Angulo, 39-year-old Richard Aspinwall, and 53-year-old Christina Irimie. Nine people suffered injuries.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said that Gray hid the whole gun used in the shooting in his backpack because it “could not be broken down.”
The morning of the shooting, a teacher allowed Gray to leave class with the backpack after Gray asked to go to the front office to speak to someone, the GBI said. Then, he took out the rifle and opened fire.
Gray is charged with four counts of felony murder and faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
His father, Colin Gray, faces a slew of charges, including four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children, making him the first parent in Georgia to be charged for an attack allegedly carried out by his child. He pleaded not guilty in November.
Winder is an estimated 50 miles from Atlanta.