The family of Georgia school shooting suspect Colt Gray is “not poor white” but just “regular people,” a relative of the boy's mother said Friday amid reports that the boy grew up in a broken home.
The perception that Gray, 14, comes from a low-income, uneducated family is simply not true, a maternal relative told The Washington Post.
In fact, most of the troubled boy's mother's relatives are middle-class people with college degrees and high-paying jobs, the family said.
“We're not poor white people. That's what everyone says we are, but we're not. We're just regular people,” a relative, who asked not to be named, told The Washington Post.
Colt Gray is accused of shooting and killing two classmates and two teachers at Apalachee High School on Wednesday morning. He has been charged with four counts of murder.
Since the massacre, harrowing details of Gray's home life have come to light.
A former neighbor and homeowner of the Gray family told The Post that the boy grew up in an abusive household that police said was frequently visited by state child protective services.
The school shooting suspect's mother, Marcy Gray, had a lengthy criminal record including arrests for drugs and domestic violence and was a bit of a black sheep in the family, relatives said.
According to her family, unlike the rest of her family, she fell into the wrong company, dated the wrong men and often got into trouble.
Lauren Vickers, who lived next door to the Grays in Jefferson, Georgia, told The Washington Post that the children often wore dirty clothes and were sometimes hungry.
“The abuse was constant,” she said.
Murthy herself held a college degree and was described as “academically and socially intelligent,” but was also known for her short temper, relatives said.
Family members and Marcy's former landlord said Marcy's mother struggled with drug and alcohol addiction.
Despite the family's intervention, nothing seemed to work and Marcy had been estranged from her family for some time by her own choice, relatives said.
Marcy's family isn't particularly fond of her husband, Collin Gray, who has also been charged with murder in connection with the shooting, and relatives say his father has been unable to hold down a job and is “not setting a good example for his son.”
Collin Gray, 54, was arrested Thursday after it was revealed he had bought the AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting as a Christmas gift for his son in December.
He is charged with four counts of manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of child abuse.
Father and son made their initial court appearance Friday, learning that each could spend the rest of their lives in prison.
Colt's family wants the boy to receive intensive medical treatment and any medication he may need. Ultimately, they hope he will be charged as a juvenile, rehabilitated and given a chance for a somewhat normal future, the relative said.
The family is currently working to find the most suitable attorney for Colt.
Relatives say they sympathize with the families of those killed but maintain that Colt is also a victim of the tragedy.
