Georgia father Colin Gray found guilty in son’s alleged deadly school shooting
Georgia Father Colin Gray Convicted in Son’s Alleged School Shooting
A jury in Barrow County, Georgia, reached a rare verdict on Tuesday, convicting Colin Gray, 55, of all charges related to his son’s alleged deadly attack at Apalachee High School. The father was found guilty of second-degree murder and cruelty to children for his role in the Sept. 4, 2024, mass shooting, during which his 14-year-old son, Colt Gray, is accused of using an AR-15-style rifle to kill two students and two educators.
Precedent in Parental Accountability
The prosecution of a parent for their child’s school shooting has historical context, as seen in the 2021 case involving James and Jennifer Crumbley, whose son Ethan Crumbley shot dead 14 students and three staff members at Oxford High School. The mother of Colt Gray referenced that case when arguing for limiting her son’s access to firearms before the 2024 incident, according to Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith.
“We hope that (this conviction) moves the needle a little further,” Smith said. “I think you saw in this case that the mother actually reviewed what happened in Michigan… and she then, as a result of that, asked her husband to remove the weapons,” he added. “It could have ended this tragedy. So Michigan was able to move the needle to the point that almost stopped this tragedy,” Smith noted. “How many tragedies it did stop? We hope we move the needle a little further.”
The jury deliberated for under two hours before returning with a guilty verdict on all 27 charges. Colin Gray displayed little visible emotion as the verdicts were announced, later being handcuffed and escorted from the courtroom after confirming the guilty findings. Judge Nicholas Primm delayed sentencing, stating that “there are a lot of people that need to be notified and have a right to appear.”
Colin Gray could face up to 243 years in prison. Defense attorneys remained silent when questioned by reporters following the trial. Colt Gray, who remains in custody, is accused of using the firearm his father failed to secure to carry out the killings near downtown Atlanta. The victims included Mason Schermerhorn, 14; Christian Angulo, 14; Richard Aspinwall, 39; and Cristina Irimie, 53.
During his testimony, Colin Gray described incidents of his son feeling targeted at school and occasionally displaying anger. Yet, he maintained that he never viewed Colt as a violent threat. “I never thought that he would even have a thought process of bringing a gun to school or doing any kind of harm to anybody else,” the father stated, adding that “on anybody at school.”