Colin Gray, a Georgia father who bought his teen son a gun used in the 2024 Apalachee High School shooting, has been found guilty of murder and related charges.
On Tuesday, a Barrow County grand jury returned guilty verdicts for 29 charges, including, in part, second-degree murder, cruelty to children, and involuntary manslaughter.
AJC reports that the prosecution successfully argued that Gray purchased an AR-15-style rifle for his son, Colt Gray, in December 2023, which the teen used to kill and injure students and staff members at the school in Winder.
The jury deliberated for around two hours before returning the unanimous verdict.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Colt Gray, 14 at the time, entered the school on September 4, “with a rifle inside his bag,” and opened fire.
Colt Gray later hid in a school bathroom before emerging in yellow work clothes. He then began firing, allegedly killing two students and two teachers at the school.
The victims have been identified as:
- Cristina Irimie, 53
- Richard Aspinwall, 39
- Mason Schermerhorn, 14
- Christian Angulo, 14
Numerous other students were wounded during the incident.
“I would have never given my 14-year-old child a firearm like that… I think most parents wouldn’t have done that,” Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith stated, according to FOX 29.
Smith added that Colin Gray was the only person at the time who could have prevented the shooting. His mother, who testified during the trial, lost custody of her son in October 2023, following a failed drug test.
“We found what she [the mother] did to be morally reprehensible… but in the end of the day, she did not have custody… and she was not the one that provided him the firearms,” he said.
Meanwhile, a status hearing for Colt Gray has been scheduled for March. He’s facing 55 felonies, including including four counts of malice murder.
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[Feature Photo: Colt Gray and Colin Gray/Bartow County Sheriff’s Office]
