STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Some other news now - the father of a 14-year-old charged with killing four people at a Georgia high school now faces criminal charges of his own.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Yeah, let's hear from Georgia Bureau of Investigations Director Chris Hosey, who made the announcement last night.
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CHRIS HOSEY: Four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children. These charges stem from Mr. Gray knowingly allowing his son to possess a weapon.
INSKEEP: The father and son both appeared in court earlier today. And this case is developing during a time when people in Georgia are debating gun safety rules. Sam Gringlas of WABE in Atlanta is following all this. Sam, good morning.
SAM GRINGLAS, BYLINE: Hey, Steve.
INSKEEP: I got to tell you, it's like a fresh wave of pain when you hear that a parent was charged in this situation. What makes authorities say the father was responsible?
GRINGLAS: Investigators announced these charges as a vigil went on around the school flagpole nearby, but they've offered few details. These charges against the father for knowingly allowing his son to possess a weapon suggest investigators are honing in on whether the 14-year-old should have had access to a firearm. This is a significant development because earlier this year, juries found the parents of a school shooter in Michigan guilty on four counts of involuntary manslaughter - a ruling, Steve, that's thought to be unprecedented.
INSKEEP: And now that same thinking seems to be applied here, from the limited evidence that we know. We did have some information about weapons and what people said about weapons. I'm remembering, earlier this week, we found out that in 2023, law enforcement visited the family home. They noticed guns were there, but the father told them then the son didn't have unsupervised access. So those are the facts as we know them. How is that influencing the debate over guns in Georgia?
GRINGLAS: Well, weeks ago, lawmakers had scheduled a hearing on safe firearm storage, and yesterday, it went on as planned, the day after this shooting. And, Steve, the testimony got pretty emotional as a police chief, a pediatric nurse and a tearful parent encouraged lawmakers to take action - action like incentivizing the use of gun safes but also making it a criminal offense when adults don't lock up weapons that kids get a hold of. But these proposals stalled in the Republican-controlled legislature this year, and Democratic State Rep Michelle Au wonders if legislation could have stopped this tragedy.
MICHELLE AU: To see a preventable harm that we had an opportunity to act on, and we didn't, is really something that doesn't just keep me up at night, but I wonder if it keeps my colleagues up at night.
INSKEEP: OK. What are her colleagues saying?
GRINGLAS: In recent years, Georgia Republicans have proudly loosened gun laws, but they did pass a law this year mandating school safety plans and active shooter drills. Republican State Senator Frank Ginn's district includes Apalachee High School, and, like other Republicans, he's prioritized hardening schools and mental health over changing gun laws.
FRANK GINN: This hits closer to me than anything in the world. This is in my Senate district. The nut that I haven't been able to crack is, how do we get to these youngsters that are going into schools and shooting them up?
GRINGLAS: So the question now - will a tragedy so close to home shift how Georgia deals with gun violence?
INSKEEP: Sam Gringlas of WABE in Georgia, thanks so much for your reporting.
GRINGLAS: Thanks, Steve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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