The Georgia high school shooting that claimed four lives this week shows the risks of keeping guns in the home, says Matt Miller, a Northeastern University professor whose research focuses on firearm violence. Miller has published studies revealing that access to guns is responsible for an increased risk of suicide in addition to mass public shootings like the tragedy Wednesday in Georgia, where a 54-year-old father has been charged with providing the military-style assault rifle that his 14-year-old son allegedly used in the shootings at Apalachee High School.
“This keeps happening in the United States at rates that are outrageously higher than in other developed countries,” says Miller, a Northeastern professor of health sciences and epidemiology. “It keeps happening here because guns — including the kind of AR-15-style rifles that were responsible for this latest attack — are so easy to get a hold of, not only for adults but also for many children.” Colt Gray, a freshman at the school, is charged with killing two 14-year-old students and two teachers. Gray received the military-style rifle as a Christmas present from his father in 2023, three law enforcement officials told the New York Times. On Thursday, the father, Colin Gray, 54, was arrested and charged with murder and manslaughter for providing his son with access to the weapon despite knowing that Colt Gray was “a threat to himself and others,” according to arrest warrants. The father and son appeared in court together Friday.
