Ron DeSantis says 14-year-old Georgia school shooter was too troubled to have a gun
Image via DeSantis campaign

DeSantis 2A
'It seems like that family had a lot of problems.'

Florida’s Governor is speaking out against a 14-year-old school shooter in Georgia, saying he never should have had access to a firearm given his own personal troubles and those of his family.

“To have a kid that’s 14, that’s had that much trouble … the FBI was even looking at him the year before, and then to have that parent just give him that rifle when he was too young to have it, but certainly not of proper mind and behavior to have it, that parent is being prosecuted,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said at the Florida Department of Transportation Lake City District Office.

“And look, that was a negligent derelict act on behalf of that parent.”

DeSantis was referring to Colt Gray, who now faces four counts of murder for a shooting earlier this month at Apalachee High School, and Gray’s father, Colin, who gave him access to the semiautomatic weapon used.

“The people that I know who are the most enthusiastic about firearms, they’re the ones that take safety the most serious and (are) going through the rules of how you handle weapons, who should have them and who not,” DeSantis added. “And it seems like that family had a lot of problems and he clearly should not have been allowed to have access to that on his own.”

DeSantis’ comments are just his latest on out-of-state school shootings and other mass murders over the years.

Earlier this year, reacting to an Iowa high school shooting by Dylan Butler, whose social media included LGBTQ+ iconography and messages of support, DeSantis said the shooter was “really hopped up on this gender ideology.”

In the wake of a 2023 mass killing in Maine that saw 18 confirmed deaths, DeSantis said “a lot of these people go in and out of the justice system because of liberal, soft on crime policies.” He also said that bans on weapons like that used by Gray and background checks would “nuke the rights of every law-abiding citizen.”

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. He writes for the New York Post and National Review also, with previous work in the American Conservative and Washington Times and a 15+ year run as a columnist in Folio Weekly. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


9 comments

  • Guns for everyone!

    September 10, 2024 at 4:44 pm

    So is Rhonda suggesting mental evaluations for gun owners? Or tougher restrictions on buying guns? Sounds woke to me. Good old Deathsantis has lost it.

  • Yrral

    September 10, 2024 at 4:59 pm

    If you are obsessed with guns and violence,you should not be allowed to own a gun ,just like convicted Felon Trump cannot Google

    • Frankie M.

      September 10, 2024 at 5:35 pm

      Thank you Dr. Phil!

  • PeterH

    September 10, 2024 at 8:13 pm

    Republicans are America’s gun problem!

    Vote all Republicans out of office!

    • Richard Eginton

      September 13, 2024 at 4:36 pm

      Guns prevent an estimated 2.5 million crimes a year, or 6,849 every day. Most often, the gun is never fired, and no blood (including the criminal’s) is shed.
      Every year, 400,000 life-threatening violent crimes are prevented using firearms.
      60 percent of convicted felons admitted that they avoided committing crimes when they knew the victim was armed.
      Forty percent of convicted felons admitted that they avoided committing crimes when they thought the victim might be armed.
      Felons report that they avoid entering houses where people are at home because they fear being shot.
      Fewer than 1 percent of firearms are used in the commission of a crime.

      • TJC

        September 18, 2024 at 3:51 pm

        Bullshit stats. What’s your source? NRA?

  • Earl Pitts is a Pedophile

    September 11, 2024 at 12:12 am

    And yet he got one anyway.
    Ban Assault Rifles. NOW.

  • Cindy

    September 12, 2024 at 10:55 pm

    Article sounds like they have a bi polar.. with massive aggression.
    Must be in the waters. Be careful if your first and second trimester. You can start . Missing a few chromosomes

  • cassandra was right

    September 13, 2024 at 8:44 am

    “Ron DeSantis says 14-year-old Georgia school shooter was too troubled to have a gun”

    What does Ron say about 14-year-old Florida schoolgirls too troubled to have a baby?

    One of Ron’s judges said 16-year-old Florida schoolgirls are too immature to have abortions. So Ron promoted the judge after he was voted out!

    Many more DeSantis judges are doing the same: forcing schoolgirls to give birth, because they are “too immature to have an abortion!” Immoral. Indecent. Abuse of power.

    No guns for children! No forced pregnancy!
    LET KIDS BE KIDS!

Comments are closed.


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