Colin Gray, the father of the Apalachee High School shooting suspect, will have his day in court starting Monday as opening statements get underway in the high-profile trial. This is the first trial of its kind in Georgia.
Gray, whose son Colt Gray allegedly opened fire inside Apalachee High on Sept. 4, 2024, killing four and injuring others, is one of only a handful of parents to have ever been charged and prosecuted for a school shooting perpetrated by their child.
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Here are a few things to know ahead of trial:
The charges
Colin Gray is facing 29 charges related to the shooting, including two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, five counts of reckless conduct and 20 counts of child cruelty.
Prosecutors allege Colin Gray knowingly allowed his son access to guns and ammunition “after receiving sufficient warning that Colt Gray would harm and endanger the bodily safety of another” and caused “with criminal negligence” the death of the four victims.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Colt Gray had been investigated in May 2023 by Jackson County deputies after a tip from the FBI that someone with his IP address was posting threats about shooting up a school on an online messaging platform. Deputies questioned the boy but didn’t make an arrest.
On the day of the incident, Gray allegedly took a SIG Sauer M400, gifted to him by his father for Christmas, to school, where he opened fire and killed two students — Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn — and two teachers — Cristina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall. Nine others were injured.
If convicted, Colin Gray faces life in prison.
The jury
Defense attorneys for Colin Gray had argued for a change of venue, asking Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm to move the case out of Barrow County so their client could get a fair and impartial jury.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Instead, Primm took the unusual step of ordering a jury be picked from neighboring Hall County, but the trial to continue to take place in Barrow County, with jurors being transported every day to court throughout the duration of the expected three-week trial.
On Wednesday, a jury of 15 people, 12 jurors and three alternates, was picked. Jurors questioned during the three-day process last week said they had heard about the shooting.
Primm asked jurors to “live like it’s 1980″ and stay off the internet and social media throughout the duration of the trial, according to Channel 2 Action News. Primm said he would not be sequestering the jury during trial.
Unprecedented charges
Before Colin Gray was indicted, only the parents of a Michigan school shooter had faced charges relating to a school shooting their child had committed.
Jennifer and James Crumbley were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to at least 10 years in prison after their 15-year-old son, Ethan, opened fire in a suburban Detroit high school, killing four students.
Similar to Gray’s case, the Crumbleys were charged for ignoring warning signs that their children could be capable of violence and allowing their children access to guns.
Jeffrey Rupnow was charged in May for allegedly intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to his daughter, Natalie Rupnow, 15, who killed a student and a teacher at a school in Madison, Wisconsin, before she killed herself, The Associated Press reported. His case is still ongoing.
Colt Gray case
Colt Gray is still facing 55 charges, including murder and 25 counts of aggravated assault. He originally pleaded not guilty, but his attorneys indicated he might change his plea following a mental health evaluation, expected to be completed by the end of February.
Primm had indicated before that he wished for Colin Gray’s trial to go first and finish before moving on to Colt Gray’s case.
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