ATLANTA — A teenager charged in connection with a deadly school shooting in Georgia that claimed four lives is due in court Friday for a combined plea and sentencing proceeding.
Colt Gray, now 16, had previously entered a not guilty plea to murder and related charges stemming from the September 4, 2024, attack at Apalachee High School. The shooting killed two teachers and two students and left several more people injured at the school located roughly 45 miles northeast of Atlanta.
Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm scheduled what is being called a “Non-Negotiated Plea and Sentencing Hearing” for Friday. Gray’s trial had originally been set to begin in mid-October in Columbia County — approximately 100 miles from the scene of the shooting — after the judge approved a defense motion to move the case to a different location.
In a related case, a jury in March found Gray’s father, Colin Gray, guilty on charges that included second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. His sentencing is scheduled for next week. Prosecutors alleged that the elder Gray provided his son with the assault-style rifle used in the attack.
The four people who lost their lives were teachers Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, along with students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14 years old. One additional teacher and eight more students were hurt, with seven of those struck by gunfire.
A non-negotiated plea differs from a standard plea deal in that the prosecution and defense have not agreed on a sentence beforehand. Rather than a defendant pleading guilty in exchange for a predetermined outcome, the judge alone determines the punishment after hearing arguments, evidence, and sentencing recommendations from both sides.
Prosecutors have indicated they plan to call teenage survivors and witnesses to the stand and intend to present surveillance footage and crime scene photographs during Friday’s hearing. They may also introduce a range of records, including 911 call recordings and Colt Gray’s school, medical, and social media history.
Gray’s defense attorney stated in a court filing that he plans to present testimony from a psychologist, a staff member from the juvenile detention facility where Gray has been held, and his grandmother.
Gray was 14 at the time of the shooting and was charged as an adult, facing a total of 55 counts — including murder in all four deaths and 25 counts of aggravated assault.
Investigators testified that the teen brought the rifle to school on the bus, concealing the barrel inside a rolled-up piece of poster board. He reportedly slipped away from his second-period class and emerged from a bathroom armed with the weapon, firing at people in a classroom and the hallway.
Authorities have said Gray methodically planned the attack on the school, which had an enrollment of approximately 1,900 students. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent testified that Gray left a notebook in his classroom containing step-by-step instructions and a diagram outlining his plan, including an estimate that he could kill up to 26 people and injure as many as 13 others.
Sheriff’s deputies had spoken with both Colt and Colin Gray back in May 2023 after an online threat was traced to the son. Colt Gray denied being responsible for the threat at that time. He had skipped eighth grade, enrolled as a freshman at Apalachee after the school year had already started, and had an inconsistent attendance record.
Prosecutors said investigators discovered a shrine in Colt Gray’s bedroom dedicated to Nikolas Cruz, the gunman behind the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.
During Colin Gray’s trial, an investigator testified that the father had recognized his son’s worsening mental health and had reached out to a counseling service just weeks before the shooting, citing concerns about anger, anxiety, and erratic behavior — but never followed through on securing that help.
Gray’s mother, Marcee Gray, who was separated from Colin Gray at the time, told investigators she had urged him weeks before the shooting to lock up his firearms and prevent their son from accessing them. Despite those warnings, Colin Gray reportedly continued purchasing ammunition, a gun sight, and other shooting accessories for the boy over time, according to records.
