The father of the suspected Georgia high school shooter abandoned the family dog and wedding photos when he was evicted, but returned and “kicked down the door” to retrieve his gun, his bewildered former landlord claims.
Collin and Marcie Gray were disorderly tenants before they were evicted from their home in 2020 for falling behind on rent payments, said the estranged couple's former landlord. He told The Independent.
The couple and their three children, including Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray, now 14, were told to leave their home.
The landlord, who has not been identified, told the outlet that the Grays were reluctant to move out of their rental property, leaving behind their two German shepherds and some precious memories.
“I believe the next house they rented didn't allow dogs so they just left it there,” he claimed, adding that the couple ignored his attempts to reunite him with the dog.
The astonished homeowner claimed to have found various belongings left behind inside the house, including a golf bag, an archery set, various equipment and wedding photos.
“They left behind their wedding photos,” he said. “My wife tried to contact[Marcy]and say, 'Hey, do you want these? You can have them,' but she never heard back. So they ended up having to throw them away.”
After changing the locks, Collin returned to the house to retrieve the firearms he had left behind.
The 54-year-old father reportedly “kicked down the door to get a gun.”
Police told The Independent they had advised the couple not to press charges because the damage was minimal and Gray had “stealed back” property.
The property owner said he had forgotten about the family until the couple's name popped up in his news feed earlier this week, “and then it all came back to me,” the shocked homeowner said.
Colt is suspected of killing four people in a shooting spree at Apalachee High School on Wednesday.
Georgia high school shooting tragedy: What we know so far
Dead in the massacre were students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and math teachers Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimy, 53.
In court on Friday, Gray, who will be tried as an adult, was warned he faces life in prison.
Collin, 54, was arrested the day after the shooting and charged with four counts of manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of child abuse.
The charges came after it was revealed that Colin had purchased the AR-15-style rifle that Colt allegedly used in the mass murders as a Christmas gift in December.
“These charges stem from Mr. Gray knowingly allowing his son, Colt, to possess a weapon,” GBI Director Chris Hosey told reporters at a news conference, without providing further details.
Federal agencies say Colt received the deadly gift from his father just seven months after authorities visited the couple after the FBI received a tip about online school shooting threats.
“It's really sad,” the former homeowner said. “The more I read these articles, the more I think, 'Oh my god, these kids never had a chance.' I mean, these parents totally screwed their kids.”
Marcy, 43, has a lengthy criminal record including arrests for drugs and domestic violence.
Lauren Vickers, who lived next door to the Grays in Jefferson, Georgia, said when the Grays and their three children moved into their well-maintained neighborhood 60 miles east of Atlanta in 2022, “problems immediately arose.”
“There were nights when my mother would lock my son and his sister out of the house, and the boys would be banging on the back door, screaming, 'Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!' and crying. It was just horrible,” she said.
