Former landlord reveals how father of Georgia school shooter ‘kicked in the door’ to retrieve guns and heartless treatment of their German shepherds

A former landlord of the parents of Colt Gray, a suspect in a Georgia school shooting, has portrayed the family as callous and unfeeling.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, described how Colin, 54, and Marcee Gray, 43, were allegedly chaotic tenants and that he eventually had them evicted.

Even more shocking, he said, when the now-estranged couple defaulted on their rent payments in 2020 and were forced to vacate their rental home, they decided to leave their pets behind. They returned only to retrieve their weapons, and allegedly kicked in the front door in the process.

The craziest thing of all is that they left [their] “Two German Shepherds,” the landlord said The Independent.

‘I imagine the next landlord didn’t allow dogs, so they just left them behind.’

The landlord explained that even when he tried to contact the couple to reunite them with their pets, they were not interested and ignored his calls.

The pair have suddenly found themselves in the spotlight following the alleged actions of their 14-year-old son, Colt, who is accused of shooting four people and wounding nine others at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia.

Details have now emerged about previous arrests and charges filed earlier this week against the father for allegedly giving his son the gun used in the shooting.

Aside from concerns about their guns, it appears the couple was as casual with their pets as they were with their possessions.

“They left their wedding pictures behind. My wife tried to contact her and say, ‘Hey, do you want these? You can have them.’ But she never responded. So we had to throw out their wedding pictures,” the landlord explained.

Looking back on his time with the couple, he says he had a “bad feeling” about the pair from the start.

In the beginning it was little things, like Colin’s refusal to look him in the eye or even shake his hand.

The landlord also noted that Marcee, his then-wife, had a lengthy criminal record for drug possession and that she seemed “terrified” of her husband.

It wasn’t long before the couple couldn’t pay their rent and the family, which included three children, was forced to leave their rental home, leaving behind their dogs and a host of other belongings, including a golf bag, an archery set and various tools.

With thousands of dollars in rent owing, the Grays were not easily released. Eventually, the anonymous landlord was forced to change the locks to get the family out once and for all.

When father Colin Gray returned to retrieve something he held dear – his guns – he had to “kick in the door and get his guns.”

The landlord reported the burglary to the police, but was advised not to file a report because he had only ‘stolen’ his own belongings.

It was only when Colin and Marcee’s names hit the news earlier this week that the landlord recalled his disturbing encounters with the family and said he had “kind of forgotten” about them.

‘And then it all comes back, but in the same way you’re like, ‘Well, damn, I mean, it was a weird, weird situation, so maybe it wasn’t as shocking as it seemed. ‘ We thought it was a bad situation, but damn, we were like, ‘Oh man, we got lucky that [that] was the only thing we had to deal with.”

Teenager Colt Gray appeared in court on Friday to answer for murder, while his father Colin refused to apply for bail and they were ordered to remain in custody.

Judge Currie Mingledorff read the charges and rights to the thin, blond-haired boy, who was dressed in a green shirt and khaki pants, with shackles on his wrists and ankles.

Mingledorff told the boy he faces four counts of murder, which are not eligible for the death penalty because he is a minor. The maximum sentence would be life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Gray is accused of fatally shooting two fellow students, also 14, and two teachers at his high school on Wednesday.

Gray’s father appeared before the same judge shortly afterward, dressed in a black-and-white striped prison uniform and rocking nervously back and forth at the defendant’s table.

He is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter.

Earlier this year, the parents of another teenage school shooter were convicted of manslaughter. However, Colin Gray is believed to be the first parent to be charged with murder in a shooting involving their child.

His lawyer also refused to request bail and he remains in custody for the time being.

Relatives of some of the victims of Wednesday’s shooting sat in the public gallery as the two suspects briefly appeared in court.

The elder Gray bought the weapon used in the shooting, an AR-15-style assault rifle, as a gift for his son last Christmas.

According to Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the father “knowingly and willingly” allowed his troubled son to have a gun.

Meanwhile, her mother, Marcee Gray, is said to be cooperating with investigators, but has not yet filed charges.