A Georgia father has been found guilty on multiple charges including second-degree murder in connection with his teenage son’s deadly school shooting, marking an unusual case where a parent faces criminal consequences for their child’s violent actions.
Colin Gray, 55, was convicted Tuesday on 27 charges following an 11-day trial related to the tragic September 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. The jury took less than two hours to reach their decision.
The charges stem from a shooting carried out by Gray’s 14-year-old son Colt, who used a rifle his father had given him as a Christmas present to kill four people and injure seven others at the school located about an hour from Atlanta.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that the elder Gray bore responsibility for arming and enabling his troubled son. “The case was about who armed Colt Gray and who enabled him to take the actions that he did,” prosecutors told the jury.
Gray’s defense team maintained that only the son should face punishment for the shooting. Colin Gray testified in his own defense, stating he was “trying to be a good father in a broken home” and claimed he never anticipated his son would carry out the attack.
The jury found Colin Gray guilty on charges including two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, and reckless conduct. A judge had previously dismissed two charges of second-degree cruelty to children before jury deliberations began.
The victims of the shooting were 14-year-old students Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn, along with teachers Cristina Irimie, 53, and Richard Aspinwall, 39.
Colt Gray faces his own separate trial on 55 charges, including four counts of malice murder and four counts of felony murder. No trial date has been set for the teenager’s case.
