When news broke about the tragic shooting in Georgia, the country was left grappling with the familiar yet horrifying images of students and teachers gunned down in their schools, terrified students crying for the loss of their classmates, and families grieving loved ones who will never come home again. What’s even more disturbing, however, is that this particular act of violence could have been prevented. The perpetrator, Colt Grey, had made threats on Discord long before this incident, but those threats were either ignored or not taken seriously enough by authorities.
In today’s world, where social media and online platforms are the primary outlets for expression—especially among young people—it’s no surprise that Discord was the place where Colt Grey’s darker intentions first surfaced. The platform, popular among gamers, is where Grey posted threats of violence. According to reports, these were not vague comments, but direct threats against others. So why weren’t they acted upon?
It’s easy to understand that in a world inundated with posts, tweets, and memes, identifying serious threats can feel like finding a needle in a haystack. But Colt Grey’s threats weren’t hidden in some deep, dark corner of the web. They were out there for anyone to see, especially those in positions of authority, who could have stepped in and taken preventive measures.
Barrow County should have punished Colt Gray for the Discord threats and other behavior in the months leading up to the shooting. If they had taken Colt Gray out of the equation before he carried out the threats, those dead and injured would never have had to face a gunman that day, and families would not now be without their loved ones. If they had given him jail time or even community service for his behavior, it could have stopped the shooting or at least made him think over it instead of going out and shooting up the school.
The warning signs were there, and red flags should have raised alarms long before any shots were fired. In the age of school shootings and public violence, it’s baffling that threats like Grey’s weren’t met with swift action. Had law enforcement or school officials investigated Grey’s posts thoroughly, they might have uncovered his plans and intervened before it was too late.
Additionally, if anyone had paid much attention or taken the time to investigate Grey’s father, it’s entirely possible that this would have been shut down much earlier. Colt Gray’s father Colin insists he had no clue what his son was planning, but he was also questioned after the Discord threats, and more attention should have been paid to the family situation that Colt Grey was living in. Conditions were violent, with family members addressing instances of abuse as well as violent and destructive actions in the family as the parents went through a tumultuous split and divorce. The warning signs were there; they were just not given the weight they deserved. The weight the dead and injured deserved.
This isn’t just about pointing fingers or assigning blame after a tragedy. It’s about realizing that we live in an era where online threats can have real-world consequences. Tragic ones. Platforms like Discord, Instagram, and Snapchat aren’t just places to chat with friends anymore. They’re also forums where frustrations, anger, and dangerous thoughts are posted, aired out, commented on, shared and repeated. And while most of these posts are harmless, it only takes one person, in this case Colt Grey, to turn words into violence.
The question now becomes: What are we going to do about it? How many more times do we need to hear that a shooter had a history of making threats before we take meaningful action? In Grey’s case, authorities had a clear opportunity to act and potentially save lives, but for some reason, they didn’t. Maybe it was negligence, or maybe it was a failure to recognize the seriousness of the situation. Either way, it’s unacceptable.
As students, we rely on adults—teachers, administrators, law enforcement—to protect us. But how can we feel safe when threats like these are ignored? We need a system in place where credible threats are swiftly addressed and people are held accountable for their actions before tragedy strikes. This could mean implementing stronger monitoring systems for online threats or ensuring law enforcement follows up on every report of potential violence.
The sad truth is that we’ll never know for certain if taking action on Colt Grey’s threats would have stopped the shooting entirely. But we do know that doing nothing allowed his violent intentions to go unchecked. This is a failure we cannot afford to repeat.
It’s time for authorities, schools, and social media platforms to take these threats seriously. Because if they don’t, we’ll continue to live in fear of the next Colt Grey, who’s out there plotting while everyone else is looking the other way.
Let’s not wait until the next tragedy to start paying attention.
