Share and Follow
WINDER, Ga. — Jurors started their deliberations on Tuesday in the case against a Georgia man whose teenage son allegedly carried out a deadly shooting at a high school in September 2024, resulting in the deaths of two students and two teachers.
Colin Gray faces charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter following the tragic events at Apalachee High School in Winder, located roughly 50 miles northeast of Atlanta. This case is part of a troubling trend where parents are being legally implicated in incidents where their children are involved in fatal shootings.
The victims of the shooting included 14-year-old students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, along with teachers Richard Aspinwall, aged 39, and Cristina Irimie, aged 53. Additionally, another teacher and eight students sustained injuries during the incident.
Prosecutors argue that Colin Gray provided his son with a firearm despite evident signs of the teenager’s declining mental health. In contrast, the defense asserts that Colt Gray, the teenager, orchestrated the attack in secrecy, without his father’s involvement or awareness.
At the time of the shooting on September 4, 2024, Colt Gray was also 14 years old. He has entered a plea of not guilty to 55 charges, encompassing murder related to the four fatalities and 25 counts of aggravated assault. His trial date is yet to be determined.
During the father’s trial, prosecutors showed surveillance video that they said showed Colt Gray getting on a school bus with a rifle concealed in a backpack.
In the video, he is seen entering the school with the backpack. He walks down several hallways past dozens of students and some employees. He then begins classes, and later that morning spends several minutes in a bathroom moments before the shooting.
In dramatic testimony as the trial opened last month, several students testified in court about being shot during their algebra class. They recounted through tears seeing a classmate in a pool of blood, then seeing blood on their own bodies and fearing they might die.
There was also testimony about what prosecutors describe as a “shrine” to a Florida school shooter that Colt Gray kept on a wall next to his computer at home.
Colin Gray testified in his own defense. He said he gave the rifle to his son for Christmas hoping to bond with the teen while hunting and during trips to the gun range, and that he saw no signs that his son was capable of carrying out a school shooting.