The father of a teenager charged in a deadly Georgia school shooting took the witness stand Friday, revealing he presented the rifle used in the attack to his son as a Christmas gift meant to strengthen their relationship through hunting and target practice.
Colin Gray’s testimony came as part of a growing trend nationwide where parents face criminal charges following their children’s involvement in fatal school shootings. Legal experts say prosecutors are attempting to hold Colin Gray responsible for providing the weapon to his son despite warning signs about the teen’s mental state.
During his court appearance, Colin Gray described the moment he surprised his son Colt with the firearm after the family finished opening Christmas presents. Walking to his son’s room, he told the boy he had an additional gift waiting.
“This is a weapon that I want you to shoot when we go to the range, and if you keep doing really good in school, going to school and doing all the things you should, you graduate and you’re 18, this will be your gun,” Colin Gray recalled telling his son.
The younger Gray, age 14 during the September 4, 2024 incident, now faces 55 criminal charges including murder for the deaths of four individuals and 25 counts of aggravated assault. Authorities say he methodically planned the attack at Apalachee High School in Winder, located northeast of Atlanta, which claimed the lives of two educators and two students while injuring several others.
Colin Gray is confronting 29 charges himself, including two second-degree murder counts and two involuntary manslaughter charges.
The father’s trial, now in its second week, has featured testimony from the boy’s mother, Marcee Gray, who said she pressed her husband to secure their firearms to prevent Colt from reaching them. However, witnesses have stated that in the days preceding the school attack, Colt kept the weapon in his bedroom.
The parents had been living apart for much of the period leading to the shooting, and Marcee Gray has not been charged with any offenses.
Last week brought emotional testimony from Georgia high school students who survived being shot during their algebra class. Through tears, they described witnessing a fellow student lying in blood, then discovering they were bleeding and fearing for their lives.
Prosecutors have also presented evidence of what they characterize as a “shrine” dedicated to a Florida school shooter that Colt maintained on his bedroom wall near his computer.
According to Marcee Gray’s testimony this week, Colt had developed a fascination with Nikolas Cruz, who received a conviction for the 2018 shooting that killed 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
This case represents one of multiple prosecutions across the country where legal authorities are pursuing charges against parents following their children’s alleged involvement in deadly school shootings.
