A Georgia jury on Tuesday held a father criminally responsible for the actions of his teenage son who — while armed with an AR-15-style rifle that had been kept inside their home — allegedly gunned down two schoolmates and two teachers.
The panel in Barrow County found Colin Gray, 55, guilty of all charges, which included second-degree murder and cruelty to children, in connection with the Sept. 4, 2024, mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder.
The jury deliberated for less than two hours before finding Gray guilty on all 27 charges.
He didn’t appear to show outward emotions as the jury delivered its convictions.
After the jury was polled to confirm all the guilty verdicts, Gray, wearing a blue sports coat and khaki pants, was handcuffed and taken away by court security.
Judge Nicholas Primm didn’t immediately set a date for sentencing, saying “there are a lot of people that need to be notified and have a right to appear.” Gray could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
The alleged gunman, Colt Gray, is accused of using the firearm his father should have secured to carry out the slaughter about 45 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.
The younger Gray, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, remains in custody and a trial date has not yet been set.
Prosecutors accused Colin Gray of ignoring warning signs of his son’s potential violence and allowing him access to the high capacity weapon used at Apalachee High School.
Jurors were shown pictures of Colt’s bedroom, which included pictures of school shooter Nickolas Cruz on the wall. Cruz killed 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, 2018.
The four slain were Mason Schermerhorn, 14; Christian Angulo, 14; Richard Aspinwall, 39; and Cristina Irimie, 53.
“Christian acted and became a hero,” Barrow County Assistant District Attorney Patricia Brooks told jurors in closing arguments.
“He attempted to push the shooter out of his classroom, and when he was shot, Christian’s last act on this earth was to shut the door to his classroom to protect his friends.”
Colin Gray, testifying on his own behalf, recounted incidents of his son feeling bullied at school and occasionally showing signs of rage.
Still, the dad told jurors he never considered Colt Gray to be a violent threat.
“I never thought that he would even have a thought process of bringing a gun to school or doing any kind of harm to anybody else. Well, on anybody at school,” the older Gray told jurors.
The prosecution of a parent for their child committing a school shooting does have precedent.
James Crumbley and wife, Jennifer Crumbley, were both found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the 2021 deadly shooting spree at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit by their son Ethan Crumbley.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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