The new trial is perhaps the most extreme example yet of a movement to hold parents accountable after their children are accused of gun violence.
Local residents mourn four people killed in Georgia high school shooting
Two teachers and two students were killed at Apalachee High School by a 14-year-old student, and the student is in custody.
A Georgia man accused of killing his son in a school shooting is on trial for murder. This is perhaps the most extreme example yet of a movement to hold parents accountable after their children are accused of gun violence.
Collin Gray is accused of providing the gun his son used to open fire at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024, killing two teachers and two students. Gray faces 29 charges, including multiple counts of second-degree murder, manslaughter, second-degree cruelty to children and reckless conduct in connection with the shooting. The case against Gray’s son is still pending, but his defense team previously indicated a plea deal was in the works with the district attorney’s office.
Gray is not the first parent to be charged in connection with a school shooting in the United States, but a relatively new law in Georgia makes his charges and potential punishment even more severe. Although specific charges will be decided on a case-by-case basis, legal experts say a conviction in this case could lead to a wave of similar prosecutions.
“I think what the state of Georgia is doing, in a sense, is trying to turn the heat up by bringing here a second-degree murder charge and a charge that carries a much higher prison sentence. Even if they lose this case, it doesn’t mean the end of this type of legal response,” said Timothy D. Litton, a law professor at Georgia State University.
Why the father of school shooting suspect will be charged with murder
Authorities said Gray gave his son the weapon used in the shooting as a Christmas present in 2023, months after he was accused of threatening to carry out a school shooting online. Officials said they could not definitively confirm that the threat came from Gray’s son, but sheriff’s deputies urged Gray at the time to keep his gun in safe hands.
Investigators said Gray knew his son was interested in school shootings and had pictures of the Parkland shooting on his wall, but his family believed it was not serious. Authorities said Gray also knew his son was struggling with mental health and had sought counseling services before the shooting.
“These charges stem from Mr. Gray knowingly allowing his son, Colt, to possess a weapon,” Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said at a 2024 press conference. “His charges are directly related to his son’s actions and allowing him to possess a weapon.”
Georgia’s unusual second-degree murder law, enacted in 2014, allowed prosecutors to charge Gray with murder.
In Georgia, if you commit second-degree child abuse and cause the death of another person, you can be charged with second-degree murder. Child abuse charges require criminal negligence, which means “an act or omission that shows a willful, wanton, or reckless disregard for the safety of another person who could reasonably be expected to be injured.”
Litton said prosecutors are likely to argue that Gray acted in a “criminal disregard for the grave danger to other children” when he gave his son a gun after a threat investigation and other red flags.
USA TODAY has reached out to Gray’s legal team for comment.
“The question will be whether the jury thinks the father essentially acted like he knew this was a very high risk and didn’t care, or whether he actually didn’t understand the risk and didn’t think his child would actually commit something like this,” Lytton said.
Punishment for parents becomes more severe
There are several other similar cases in which parents and guardians face increasingly harsh penalties, but Gray’s case could be the harshest. Second-degree murder in Georgia carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, which is less severe than murder but more severe than manslaughter.
The father of a man accused of killing seven people at a 2023 Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, pleaded guilty to seven misdemeanors and was sentenced to 60 days in jail and 100 hours of community service.
That same year, the mother of a 6-year-old boy in Virginia was sentenced to two years in prison for felony child abandonment after her son shot and killed his first-grade teacher. According to local media, the school’s vice principal has been charged with eight felony counts of child abuse and disregard for life for ignoring multiple warnings about violent behavior by children, and could face a longer prison term if found guilty at a trial in May.
The charges against Gray come 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.
Can prosecutors prevent tragedy?
Following the Crumbleys’ historic conviction, some legal experts told USA TODAY that the ruling could encourage other prosecutors to pursue more cases of this type. But others weren’t so sure.
Karen MacDonald, who prosecuted the Crumbleys, told The Associated Press about the case: “I never felt like this was a moment where the floodgates were going to open for accusations against the parents and for sending a message to people.”
There hasn’t been a large influx of such cases in recent years since the Crumbley decision, and prosecutors appear to be holding back on the most serious charges for “the most seriously problematic acts by parents,” said Nick Spurina, executive vice president of legal policy for the Everytown Gun Safety Association. “But the overall trend we’re seeing is taking parent accountability seriously and we think that’s a positive development,” he said.
This trend is likely to continue after Gray’s trial, experts told USA TODAY.
“When something like this comes out and people see that it’s successful, it’s going to be copied,” Mark Chatukou said., Criminal defense attorney and former federal prosecutor.
Supurina believes incidents like Gray’s will have a “huge deterrent effect” and encourage gun owners to keep weapons out of the hands of children. But he said the most effective way to prevent future tragedies is to pass laws that require safe storage of firearms and prevent children from accessing them.
Michigan imposed such a law after the Oxford High School shooting, but Georgia has not enforced it, according to Everytown.
Contributor: Thao Nguyen and Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY; Wayne Ford, Athens Banner-Herald
