GA School Shooting Suspect Received Weapon As Gift From Dad: Reports

BARROW COUNTY, GA — The accused gunman in a deadly shooting earlier this week at Apalachee High School could face a sentence of life in prison without parole after four people died in the shooting, the Associated Press reported. Authorities said the teen received the gun as a Christmas gift, reports say.

The tragic shooting Wednesday claimed the lives of two teachers and two students, injuring eight students and a teacher, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.

Authorities said of the nine, six students and the teacher were shot. It is unknown how the remaining two people sustained injuries.

The deceased were identified as students Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn, both 14, and teachers 39-year-old Richard Aspinwall and 53-year-old Cristina Irimie. The GBI said their autopsies have been completed.

The accused shooter, 14-year-old Colt Gray, who was a student at Apalachee, had his first court appearance Friday morning in a Barrow County courtroom. Superior Judge Currie Mingledorff told Colt Gray that his age prevents him from facing the death penalty, if convicted, CNN reported.

Authorities previously said Colt Gray will be tried as an adult. He was accused of using an AR-15 style gun in the shooting, which he was given as a Christmas present months after investigators asked him about school threats made online, NBC News first reported.

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After being arrested around 6:15 p.m. Thursday, 54-year-old Colin Gray also appeared in court. Colin Gray is the father of Colt Gray and had custody of the teenager, the GBI said.

Piedmont Judicial Circuit District Attorney Brad Smith said Colin Gray's arrest is the first time in Georgia that a parent of a school shooting suspect has been charged in connection with the shooting. The arrest is the second time nationally.

Charges for the father-son duo are as follows:

Colt Gray (Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center)

• Four counts of felony murder

Colin Gray (Barrow County Detention Center)

• Eight counts of second-degree cruelty to children
• Two counts of second-degree murder
• Four counts of involuntary manslaughter

Attorneys representing the pair did not seek bail, the Associated Press reported.

If convicted of all counts, Colin Gray could face up to 180 years in prison, CNN reported.

Charges against Colin Gray stem from actions of "knowingly" allowing his young son to have a gun, the GBI said.

Colin Gray gave his son the gun with knowledge the teenager was "a threat to himself and others," an arrest warrant affidavit alleges, per CNN.

It is unknown how Colt Gray got the gun into Apalachee, and a motive has not been released.

"This is a very difficult time for students and parents and many are afraid. You’ve likely seen reports of incidents of other students making threats today at various schools around the state. In each of these incidents, police took charges and made arrests as we take each matter seriously.
This is a time for us a state to come together and remain vigilant. Students must be supported and encouraged to contact a member of school faculty with all concerns of suspicious activity," the GBI said in a news release.

Colt Gray's mother, Marcee Gray, pled guilty to several drug charges in November 2023 after being accused of having hydrochloride, fentanyl, and methamphetamine, CNN reported Friday. She was also accused of having a fake license plate to conceal the identify of a vehicle and of "using a glass pipe for narcotics," the news outlet reported.

Annie Brown, reportedly the aunt of Colt Gray, told CNN had Colin Gray not been facing charges that he would have supported his son during his first court appearance.

“He’s just a baby; it never should have happened,” Brown told CNN of Colt Gray.

The shooting sparked panic in the Barrow County community and prompted widespread precautions in school districts across and near the metro Atlanta. It triggered a lockdown at Apalachee, where there are no metal detectors, and caused Barrow County schools to be closed for the remainder of the week.

The GBI said several teachers pressed their panic alert buttons on their badges, notifying law enforcement of an incident at the school. The panic alert had gone into effect about a week before the shooting.