Georgia school shooting suspect interviewed by police for online threats in 2023

In the aftermath of a school shooting in Georgia that killed four people and left nine others injured, American federal investigators said they interviewed the 14-year-old suspected gunman in 2023 after he allegedly made violent threats online.

Atlanta’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said its National Threat Operations Center was alerted to online threats about committing a school shooting in May 2023. The posts were allegedly made by the 14-year-old accused of storming Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., on Wednesday.

In an FBI statement released later that evening, officials said officers from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office interviewed the suspect, then 13 years old, and his father within 24 hours of the posts being made last year. The threats, which did not specify a location or time, included photos of guns. It is not clear where the posts were shared online.

The suspect’s father told authorities he owned hunting rifles and stored them inside the home, but maintained his son did not have unsupervised access to the weapons. The teenager denied posting the threats of a school shooting online.

“At that time, there was no probable cause for arrest or to take any additional law enforcement action on the local, state, or federal levels,” the FBI statement reads.

Jackson County police notified local schools for continued monitoring of the subject, officials said.

FBI agents responded to the shooting at Apalachee High School on Wednesday and said they assisted local and state law enforcement officers. The federal agency promised to provide all available resources “to seek justice and bring closure for the victims and their families.”

The 14-year-old is accused of using a military-style rifle to open fire inside