Colin Gray, the father of Georgia school shooting suspect Colt Gray, bought him the AR-15 style rifle used in the incident in an effort to "toughen him up," a relative told the New York Post.

Colin, 54, gave Colt, 14, the assault rifle used in the Apalachee High School shooting last Wednesday (September 4) that resulted in the deaths of two teenage students and two teachers for Christmas, authorities had previously confirmed, but a relative of Colt's mother, Marcee, said the father did so after speaking to his son in a concerning way.

“He would call Colt names to his face,” the relative said. “Names that no boy wants to hear: sissy, p***y, b***h… just names that were meant to break him down and emasculate him.”

“Colin always thought that Colt was too gentle and tender. That’s why I believe he gave him the rifle,” the relative added.

Colt was charged with four counts of murder and will be tried as an adult in relation to the mass shooting, which could result in a life sentence if convicted. Colin was also arrested and faces four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children in the second degree, which could bring a sentence of 180 years in prison if convicted.

“He’s evil,” said Charles Polhamus, Colt's maternal grandfather, of Colin via the New York Post. “Spending 11 years with that son of a b***h screaming and hollering every day — it can affect anybody.

Footage obtained by the New York Post showed what appeared to be the AR-15-style-weapon used by Gray during the Apalachee shooting lying on the ground with a magazine attached and another tan magazine next to it in the school's hallway near a white sheet covering a body. Police confirmed that Gray used an AR-style weapon when he opened fire, killing two fellow students and two teachers, as well as injuring nine others, at around 10:30 a.m.

The two students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angular, both 14, and two teachers, Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie, were identified publicly by Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey during a press conference.

Dan Holzman