WINDER, Ga. (Court TV) — An accused school shooter will not have his trial in Atlanta, Georgia, after both sides agreed to move it to another location.
Colt Gray, 16, appeared in a Barrow County courtroom on Thursday for the first time in six months. During the status conference, his defense attorney, Charlton Allen, brought up his motion to move the teenager’s trial out of the Atlanta metro area, citing the heavy media presence. The prosecution had no objection.
Judge Nicholas Primm agreed to allow the venue change, but told the court that he received “radio silence” after contacting a few other locations. Primm mentioned that Columbia County was a leading contender for the trial, which he said should happen some time in the fall, later noting the middle of October was a possibility.
Colt Gray, the teen accused of killing two students and two teachers and injuring nine others in the 2024 Apalachee High School shooting, appeared in court on May 28. (Court TV)
Thursday’s status conference was the first time Colt Gray appeared in court since his father, 54-year-old Colin Gray, was found guilty of 29 charges stemming from the 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School. Colin Gray is scheduled to be sentenced on July 28. Primm pitched putting a deadline for a plea, should Colt Gray change his not guilty plea, so the hearing would not interfere with his father’s sentencing.
The mass shooting, which took place on Sept. 4, 2024, took the lives of two students — Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14 — and two teachers — Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53. Colt Gray, the alleged gunman, was 14 years old at the time. He faces 55 charges, including murder and aggravated assault.
Prosecutors successfully argued that Colin Gray was criminally responsible for the shooting because he had gifted his son the weapon he later allegedly used to carry out the murders.
