WINDER, Ga. (Court TV) — The man found guilty in connection with a mass shooting involving his son at a Georgia high school will face sentencing this summer.
Colin Gray testifies in his own defense on Feb. 27, 2026. (Court TV)
A jury convicted Colin Gray of all 29 charges he faced, including two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter for the shooting on Sept. 4, 2024, at Apalachee High School. While Colin Gray wasn’t present at the school at the time of the shooting, his then-14-year-old son, Colt Gray, is accused of carrying out the shooting.
Teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, were killed in the shooting along with students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14.
Prosecutors had argued that Gray maintained a criminal responsibility for the shooting because he had gifted his son the weapon he later allegedly used to carry out the murders. “This is a weapon that I want you to shoot when we go to the range, and if you keep doing really good in school, going to school and doing all the things you should, you graduate and you’re 18, this will be your gun,” Colin Gray testified at trial that he told his son.
Colt Gray is charged with murder for the deadly shooting at Apalachee High School. (Barrow County Sheriff’s Office)
Colt Gray’s mother, Marcee Gray, testified that she had urged her husband to lock up the weapons out of concern for their son.
Testimony from Colin Gray’s trial included evidence that Colt Gray had an active interest in school shooters and had built what prosecutors described as a “shrine” to Nikolas Cruz in his room. Cruz was convicted of the 2018 shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people in 2018.
In an order issued Friday, the court set aside two days for Colin Gray’s sentencing, which will begin on July 28.
Colt Gray, who was indicted on a total of 55 counts, including murder and 25 counts of aggravated assault, has pleaded not guilty and has an upcoming status hearing on May 28. Colt Gray’s attorney told the court at a hearing last year that his client was leaning toward pleading guilty, but was waiting for a psychological report.
