The FBI’s Atlanta field office issued a statement on Wednesday, shortly after a 14-year-old boy killed two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Georgia, indicating agents were aware of the threat but had “no probable cause” to make an arrest.

“FBI Atlanta responded earlier today to Apalachee High School following reports of an active shooter. Throughout the day, FBI personnel have been coordinating with and supporting local and state law enforcement. The FBI will dedicate all available resources, as requested, to seek justice and bring closure for the victims and their families,” the statement began.

“In May 2023, the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time. The online threats contained photographs of guns. Within 24 hours, the FBI determined the online post originated in Georgia, and the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office referred the information to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office for action,” the statement continued.

“The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office located a possible subject, a 13-year-old male, and interviewed him and his father. The father stated he had hunting guns in the house, but the subject did not have unsupervised access to them. The subject denied making the threats online. Jackson County alerted local schools for continued monitoring of the subject,” the statement said, adding: “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.”

FBI had prior knowledge of Apalachee school shooter Colt Gray from online comments to commit a school shooting last year.

“There was no probable cause for his arrest,” the bureau said.

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On Wednesday, authorities identified 14-year-old Colt Gray as the shooter responsible for killing two students and two teachers at the school. Gray has surrendered to authorities and is now in custody. He is expected to face murder charges as an adult, Fox News said.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey identified two students killed as Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Math teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irmie were also killed, he said.

Abner Efrain Sanz, a friend of Angulo, told a local outlet, “I just was like, this isn’t real. This can’t be happening. I was in denial, you know, because you would never believe that somebody that you knew would pass away just like that.”

“I’m trying to process things, and I’m trying to cope by hanging out with my friends and just ignoring the situation in general. But it’s still affecting me. Like inside. It’s just it’s a lot to manage. It’s a lot to deal with, and it’s just a lot in general,” Sanz told WAGA.

Sanz did not go to Apalachee but said they were friends in middle school.

“He was really funny. He was always like, so energetic, and so happy all the time. He was really just a good friend to be around,” the student said.

Former President Trump promised to “heal our world” when asked about the shooting during a Fox News Town Hall on Wednesday night.

Host Sean Hannity spoke to Trump about the tragedy and offered his prayers to Georgia residents before bringing up the issue of violence in America.

“I told this audience, never before have restrictions been so tight,” Hannity said. “Obviously, after the assassination attempt as well…what is going on?”

“Well, it’s a sick and angry world for a lot of reasons, and we’re going to make it better,” Trump responded. “We’re going to heal our world. We’re going to get rid of all these wars that are starting all over the place.”