At 14, Colt Gray, the suspected killer of two students and two teachers during the September 4 shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia, was charged with four counts of felony murder. According to video evidence, he and his father, Colin, hunted and killed a deer together. Find out more about how killing other animals is connected to violence against humans.

Suspected Georgia Shooter Hunted With His Father

In May 2023, Colin Gray allegedly told law-enforcement officers that the day Colt shot and killed a deer for the first time was “the greatest day ever.”

When Colin Gray cheered his son on after he slaughtered a vulnerable animal, he sent him the message that it’s acceptable—and even laudable—to take the life of other sentient beings, desensitizing him to killing.

Killing Animals Is Often a Precursor to More Violence

Sandy Hook Promise includes cruelty to animals on its list of “10 Critical Warning Signs of Violence,” and research shows that approximately 43% of school shooters first committed acts of cruelty against animals—so animal abusers potentially pose a serious threat to communities at large.

Amid an epidemic of youth violence, it’s crucial to teach children that all living, feeling beings deserve respect. PETA’s humane education division, TeachKind, will send empathy-building curricula to schools in Winder, Georgia. TeachKind resources are easy to integrate into schools’ existing curricula to help prevent future violence.

PETA urges everyone to report every act of cruelty and calls on authorities to take every animal abuse claim seriously—for the sake of the animal victims and the many other lives that may depend on it.

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