Georgia
Teen and father face murder charges after Georgia high school shooting
A grand jury in Georgia has indicted a father and son for their roles in a deadly mass shooting at Apalachee High School, Winder.
The incident, which took place on Sept. 4, claimed four lives and wounded several others, plunged the community of Barrow County into shock and despair.
Colt Gray, 14, has been charged as an adult with 55 counts, including four murder charges and 25 counts of aggravated assault.
His father, Colin Gray, 54, faces 29 counts, including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.
Both father and son are scheduled for arraignment on November 21.
The shooting resulted in the deaths of two teachers, Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and two students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14.
Seven other students and a teacher were injured, some critically.
Colin Gray, 54, the father of Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray, 14, sits in the Barrow County courthouse for his first appearance, Sept. 6, 2024, in Winder, Ga. Both parties are scheduled for arraignment on Nov. 21, and neither have sought release on bail.
AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File
Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith, who is handling the prosecution, told reporters that this case has presented some unique challenges.
“Every person, every kid in that school was a victim,” Smith said.
“Kids in all the other schools that were locked down during this were victims. Parents that were terrified about where their kids were.”
Colin Gray’s second-degree murder charges are an unusual feature in Georgia law, brought when a child’s death occurs during a case of cruelty to children.
The indictment accuses Gray of giving his son access to guns and ammunition despite being warned of the dangers.
Investigators testified that Gray ignored repeated signs of his son’s mental health deterioration and fascination with violence.
Colt Gray, charged as an adult with four counts of murder, sits in the Barrow County courthouse during his first appearance for the shooting at Apalachee High School, Sept. 6, 2024, in Winder, Ga. Prosecutors allege that Gray carefully plotted the attack, bringing an assault rifle concealed in a book bag to school. He left a notebook detailing his plan to kill and wound as many as 26 people.
AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, Pool, File)
They said the teenager carefully plotted the attack, carrying a semiautomatic rifle onto the school bus and using a poster board to conceal it.
A Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent testified that Colt Gray carried a diagram of his second-period classroom, estimating that he could kill as many as 26 people and wound as many as 13 others. “Surprised if I make it this far,” he wrote.
Colt Gray’s interest in previous school shootings had been noted by his parents.
His mother, Marcee Gray, told investigators she had argued with Colin Gray, urging him to secure his weapons.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Agent Kelsey Ward claims that instead of taking action, Colin bought their son shooting accessories and ammunition.
Ward testified that Colt had created a “shrine” to school shooters, including an image of Nikolas Cruz, the gunman responsible for the Parkland, Florida, school shooting.
Despite this, Colt’s parents dismissed the behavior as “joking,” choosing not to intervene.
This combination of images show shooting victims, from left, Christian Angulo, Mason Schermerhorn, Cristina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall, displayed at a memorial outside Apalachee High School, Sept. 10, 2024, in Winder, Ga. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, seven of them hit by gunfire.
AP Photo/Charlotte Kramon, File
Further testimony revealed that Colt’s mother had tried to get her son into a mental health facility just days before the shooting.
However, the plan fell through after a dispute between Colt’s parents about whether to secure the family’s guns.
District Attorney Smith said that the responsibility for preventing such a tragedy extends to the home.
The Grays’ case echoes another high-profile school shooting in Michigan, where Jennifer and James Crumbley were convicted for their failure to secure a firearm that was later used by their son in a school attack.
They were sentenced to at least ten years in prison for involuntary manslaughter.
As the trial date approaches, both Colt and Colin Gray remain in custody. Neither has sought release on bail. Their lawyers have yet to comment publicly.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press