A Georgia father whose teenage son, Colt Gray, is accused of carrying out a deadly school shooting has been convicted of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter after prosecutors argued he ignored repeated warning signs and gave the boy access to the gun used in the attack.
Jurors took less than two hours to find Colin Gray guilty on all counts related to the September 4, 2024, shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, northeast of Atlanta.
The attack left two students and two teachers dead and wounded several others.
Gray now joins a growing number of parents in the United States who have been held criminally responsible after their children carried out school shootings.
Victims of the Attack
Gray was convicted of second-degree murder in the deaths of 14-year-old students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo.
Under Georgia law, second-degree murder can apply when a person causes the death of a child while committing the crime of cruelty to children.
He was also convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53.
In addition to the four deaths, another teacher and eight students were wounded during the shooting.
Gray was also found guilty of multiple counts of reckless conduct and cruelty to children.
He showed little visible emotion as the verdicts were read in court, and deputies placed him in handcuffs as he stood at the defense table with his attorney.
Sentencing will occur at a later date.
Second-degree murder carries a penalty of 10 to 30 years in prison, while involuntary manslaughter can result in one to 10 years behind bars.
Prosecutors: Warnings Were Ignored
Prosecutors argued that Gray gave the gun used in the attack to his son, Colt Gray, as a Christmas gift and allowed him continued access to the weapon and ammunition despite mounting warning signs about the boy’s behavior.
Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith said the tragedy could have been prevented.
“It wasn’t like one parent missed one warning,” Smith said.
“This was multiple warnings over a lengthy period of time and, like we said, you just had to do one thing — take that rifle away and this would have been prevented.”
After the verdict, Smith emphasized what he described as a broader responsibility for parents and communities.
“We talk a lot about rights in our country,” Smith said.
“But God gave us a duty to protect our children, and I hope that we remember that, as parents, as community members, to protect our children because that is our God-given duty.”
Teen Suspect Facing Separate Trial
Colt Gray was 14 years old at the time of the shooting.
He has pleaded not guilty to 55 criminal counts, including multiple murder charges.
A judge has scheduled a status hearing for mid-March.
Investigators said the teen carefully planned the attack.
Authorities say he boarded the school bus carrying a semiautomatic rifle inside his backpack, with the barrel protruding and wrapped in poster board.
He later left his classroom, emerged from a bathroom with the weapon, and began firing in a classroom and school hallways.
Prosecutors also said Colt Gray had become obsessed with previous school shootings and had a shrine in his bedroom dedicated to Nikolas Cruz, the gunman responsible for the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.
Mother Warned About the Guns
Colt Gray’s mother, Marcee Gray, was not charged.
She testified that she urged her estranged husband to secure the firearms.
According to her testimony, she asked him to place the weapons in his truck so their son would not have access to them.
The couple had separated in the months leading up to the shooting, and the teenager primarily lived with his father during that time.
She declined to comment publicly following the verdict.
Part of a Growing Legal Trend
The case follows the conviction of Jennifer and James Crumbley, the first U.S. parents held criminally responsible for a mass school shooting carried out by their child.
Their son Ethan Crumbley killed four students at a Michigan high school in 2021.
Both parents are currently serving 10-year prison sentences for involuntary manslaughter.
Colin Gray is the first parent charged in Georgia under a similar legal theory.
Smith noted that the Michigan case influenced discussions within the Gray family.
“So Michigan was able to move the needle to the point that it almost stopped this tragedy,” Smith said. “We hope we’ve moved the needle a little further.”
Georgia Responds with New School Safety Measures
In response to the Apalachee High School shooting, Georgia lawmakers passed new school safety legislation.
The law requires the creation of an alert system identifying students who have threatened violence or committed violent acts at school.
It also mandates that law enforcement notify schools when officers learn that a student has threatened serious harm.
Additional measures include mobile panic alert buttons in schools, faster transfer of student records when children change schools, and the appointment of mental health coordinators in each of Georgia’s 180 school districts.
Lawmakers also approved a request by Gov. Brian Kemp to allocate $50 million in additional funding for school safety programs.
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