Trial begins for father of Apalachee High School shooting suspect
Jury selection is underway for the trial of Colin Gray, the father of a teenager accused in the 2024 shooting death at Apalachee High School.
Fox – 5 Atlanta
A father whose son was charged with fatally shooting two teachers and two classmates at a Georgia high school in 2024 has been found guilty of murder, manslaughter and other charges for providing his son with the gun allegedly used in the shootings.
Colin Gray, 55, testified during the nearly two-week trial that he gave the rifle used in the Apalachee High School attack to his son, Colt Gray, as a Christmas present. Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimy were killed in the shooting, sending shockwaves through the tight-knit rural community.
Prosecutors argued the father should have been aware of the danger his son posed. Prosecutor Patricia Brooks told jurors in closing arguments that the case was “about who armed Colt and who enabled Colt to do what he did.”
Colin Gray testified in his own defense that he did not know his son was capable of carrying out a mass shooting. “I struggle with it every day,” he said in emotional testimony.
After deliberating for less than two hours, the jury found Colin Gray guilty on 29 charges, including second-degree murder, manslaughter, reckless conduct and child abuse. The most serious charge, second-degree murder, carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison in Georgia and is less than murder but more than manslaughter.
Colin Gray appeared to show little emotion as the sentence was read.
Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith, who prosecuted the case, said the charges mark the first time in Georgia history that a parent of a school shooting suspect has been charged in connection with the crime. Georgia’s unusual second-degree murder law, enacted in 2014, allowed prosecutors to charge Gray with murder.
Collin Gray’s indictment comes just months after Jennifer and James Crumbley, the parents of a 15-year-old boy who killed four of his classmates at a Michigan high school, were found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison. Legal experts told USA TODAY that, like the Crumbley case, Collin Gray’s conviction could prompt more prosecutors to pursue similar cases.
“The conviction of Colin Gray, which follows the convictions of Jennifer and James Crumbley, sends a clear message that gun owners who recklessly arm children in crisis will be held accountable. With three out of four school shooters obtaining their guns from home, these tragedies are not only predictable, but preventable,” Nick Spurina, senior vice president of law and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety, said in a statement. “This is not about punishing all parents. This is about the life-or-death duty of adults to keep weapons out of the hands of children.”
The younger Gray faces 55 charges, including murder, aggravated assault and child abuse. His case is pending, but his attorneys have previously indicated that a plea deal is in the works with the district attorney’s office.
This story has been updated to add new information.
Contributed by: Reuters
