Father of teen school shooter sentenced to 15 years in prison
Colin Gray, whose 16-year-old son Colt Gray killed four people in a 2024 school shooting in Winder, Georgia, has been sentenced to 15 years for murder and involuntary manslaughter. The judge said he failed as a parent by ignoring warning signs.
A father in the US state of Georgia has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in a mass school shooting carried out by his teenage son. Colin Gray, 55, was convicted in March on charges including murder and involuntary manslaughter after his son Colt Gray, then 16, opened fire at Apalachee High School in Winder, near Atlanta, in 2024.
The Attack
The shooting claimed the lives of two teachers and two students: Christian Angulo, 14, Mason Schermerhorn, 14, Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53. Investigators revealed that Colt used an AR-style rifle he had received as a Christmas gift from his father. Prosecutors argued that Colin Gray was “the one person who could have prevented” the tragedy, but he ignored multiple red flags.
Sentencing Details
On Thursday, Judge Nicholas Primm handed down the sentence: 15 years for each second-degree murder conviction and 10 years for each involuntary manslaughter conviction, all to be served concurrently. The prosecution had sought 80 years; the defense asked for a lighter 10-year term.
“It is clear you failed as a parent,” Judge Primm told Gray. “The warning lights were flashing brighter and brighter… and you failed to do the simplest things to prevent this.” He also acknowledged that Gray “didn't seek to harm anyone” and “didn't pull a trigger” himself.
Warning Signs Ignored
During the trial, the court heard how Gray had bought his son the weapon just seven months after the boy was questioned by police over online threats to commit a school shooting. A notebook detailing plans to kill students and teachers was also found. “After seeing sign after sign of his son's deteriorating mental state, his violence, his school-shooter obsession … instead of disarming him, he gave him the detonator,” said prosecutor Patricia Brooks.
Precedent in US Law
This marks the third time a US parent has been held criminally responsible for a mass shooting committed by their child. In April 2024, the parents of a Michigan teen who killed four students days after receiving a gun were also sentenced.
