He bought his teenage son the rifle for Christmas, hoping it would bring them closer together. But Barrow County authorities said Colin Gray ignored a series of red flags leading up to the deadliest school shooting in Georgia history.
He knew 14-year-old Colt Gray had become infatuated with school shooters, prosecutors contended at trial. He had seen what investigators described as a “shrine” to the Parkland, Florida, shooter on his son’s wall and even asked him about it.
Still, Colin Gray allowed the teen to keep the AR-style rifle in his bedroom, relatives said. Authorities argued the boy had “unfettered access” to the weapon and ammunition allegedly used to carry out the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting that killed two teachers and two students inside Apalachee High School.
On Tuesday, a jury from neighboring Hall County convicted Gray of second-degree murder and more than two dozen other charges in the novel Georgia case. It took them less than two hours to convict on each of the charges Gray faced.
Credit: Abbey Cutrer/AJC
Credit: Abbey Cutrer/AJC
Sentencing will be deferred to a later date. The 55-year-old faces more than 200 years in prison.
Inside the third floor courtroom, tensions ran high as each guilty verdict was read aloud. The victims’ loved ones sobbed on the courtroom bench, their hands clasped tightly.
At the back of the courtroom, observers were seen wiping tears from their eyes. Gray, seated next to his defense attorney, appeared to clench his jaw as the verdict was read.
After the guilty verdict, Gray was handcuffed and led from the courtroom. Some of the students’ parents embraced the county sheriff as the exited the courtroom.
Colin Gray was the only person who could have prevented the tragedy, prosecutor Patricia Brooks said in her closing arguments.
Instead, he “ensured Colt Gray had the tools he needed to commit mass murder,” she said, calling the father “the only person who knew what Colt was capable of.”
Credit: Abbey Cutrer/AJC
Credit: Abbey Cutrer/AJC
The trial was one of the first cases nationally to hold a parent accountable for allegedly enabling a child’s access to a firearm used in a school shooting. In the only other case like it to have proceeded to trial, the parents of a Michigan school shooter were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to prison.
In charging the dad, legal observers said District Attorney Brad Smith was forced to straddle a fine line between Second Amendment gun rights and parental responsibility in his mostly conservative county.
Credit: Courtesy photos
Credit: Courtesy photos
Those killed were two students — Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn — and two teachers — Cristina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall. Nine others were injured.
Over the years, social workers and school counselors had urged Colin Gray to get counseling for his son. The teen’s mom, who lived with her parents, suggested removing the weapons from the home, she testified at trial.
But prosecutors said Gray ignored the warning signs. And when Barrow County deputies showed up in his driveway about two hours after the shooting, Gray already suspected his son was involved.
“God! I knew it, man,” Colin Gray is heard telling deputies in body camera footage. He had received ominous texts from both Colt Gray and his daughter that morning, text messages showed.
Colt Gray, investigators said, boarded the school bus that morning with his gun in his backpack. He used a poster board to conceal the barrel of the rifle.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Gray, now 16, has yet to be tried. He faces 55 charges, in the Apalachee shooting, murder and aggravated assault. He has pleaded not guilty.
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