Jury selection and opening statements began Monday in the case against Colin Gray, the father of the teenager accused of carrying out the 2024 mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. The shooting left four people dead: teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, along with students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Several others were injured.
Gray, 55, has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges tied to the Sept. 4 attack, including two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, cruelty to children and reckless conduct. Prosecutors allege he allowed his 14-year-old son, Colt Gray, access to the AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting — a weapon they say he purchased for the teen as a Christmas gift. Colt Gray, now 16, is being tried separately as an adult and has pleaded not guilty to dozens of charges, including felony murder and attempted murder.
Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith told jurors the case centers not on parenting in general, but on specific decisions made after clear warning signs. “This is not a case about holding parents accountable for what their children do. That’s not what this case is about,” Smith said. “This case is about this defendant and his actions — his actions in allowing a child that he has custody over access to a firearm and ammunition after being warned that child was going to harm others.”
According to prosecutors, school officials, counselors and law enforcement had previously raised concerns about Colt’s troubling behavior, including alleged threats to carry out a school shooting. Authorities interviewed the father and son more than a year before the attack but did not file charges at the time, citing insufficient evidence tying the teen to online threats.
Smith said the jury will hear that Colt had shown an interest in prior mass shootings and kept disturbing materials in his bedroom. He also cited text messages sent to his father days before the attack, including one in which the teen wrote, “I have to kind of dance around the inconvenient truth at times, I have no control over what these things say and tell me to do.” Despite those red flags, prosecutors contend the rifle remained accessible in the boy’s room.
Defense attorney Brian Hobbs acknowledged the devastation caused by the attack but argued that hindsight cannot be used to assign criminal blame. “What happened at Apalachee High School was tragic, it was horrific, it was terrifying and it was heartbreaking. Nothing said in this courtroom can change that,” Hobbs told jurors, maintaining that Colt concealed his plans and mental state from those around him, including his father: “The evidence will show a teenager who is struggling mentally. A teenager who is deceptive,” Hobbs said. “A teenager who hid his true intentions from everyone — from his family, from his counselor, from his siblings, from DFCS, from law enforcement and most especially from his father.” Hobbs argued that while the outcome was catastrophic, the prosecution must prove that Colin Gray knew — or should have known — his son would commit violence.
If convicted on all counts, Colin Gray faces the possibility of decades in prison.
Editorial credit: Williams Photography 365 / Shutterstock.com
