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Colin Gray gets 15 years
Colin Gray, 55, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in Georgia after a jury found him criminally culpable for the September 4, 2024 Apalachee High School shooting carried out by his teenage son, Colt Gray.
“Colin Gray, 55, admitted to providing the assault rifle used by his then-14-year-old son”
Judge Nicholas Primm sentenced the father after prosecutors said Colin Gray admitted to providing the assault rifle used by his then-14-year-old son, and the attack killed two students and two teachers.
The sentencing followed Colt Gray’s guilty plea to all 55 counts, including murder and aggravated assault, and his life in prison without parole was delivered by the same judge.
Prosecutors and the court tied the case to parental responsibility, with Primm saying the father was convicted because "the warning lights were flashing brighter and brighter" and he did not get his son help or remove his access to guns.
In the courtroom, Brad Smith argued the risk was "staring him in the face every day" in the form of a shrine to the shooter in the Parkland high school massacre in his son's bedroom.
Families, defense, prosecutors clash
During the sentencing hearing, victims’ families urged Judge Nicholas Primm to impose the maximum punishment, while defense attorneys argued Colin Gray had sought mental health treatment for Colt Gray and asked for a lesser sentence.
Primm told the court, "It is clear you failed as a parent," and he said the law required him to set aside emotion while delivering a sentence without passion despite the "immeasurable heartache" caused.
Defense attorney Brian Hobbs said the question was narrower and harder, arguing that "what does justice require when a father's negligence and a son's concealed intent meet on a single morning?"
Prosecutors countered that Colin Gray gave Colt Gray the gun months after law enforcement asked him to restrict his son's access, and Brad Smith said, "This was the risk he was ignoring, that there would be a mass shooting of children at a school."
In impact statements, Shayna Aspinwall told the court, "He did not pull the trigger but purchased and left a firearm accessible to a minor," as Breanna Schermerhorn said the shooting was "preventable."
What the case changes
The sentencing came as the case tested who can be held responsible for a mass shooting carried out by a child, with Judge Nicholas Primm describing it as "this new phenomenon of parents being charged" in conjunction with crimes their children commit.
“"this new phenomenon of parents being charged"”
Colin Gray’s conviction and sentencing echoed other parent prosecutions, including the Michigan case where Jennifer and James Crumbley were sentenced to 10 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter after Ethan Crumbley killed four students at Oxford High School in 2021.
In Georgia, prosecutors said Colin Gray gave Colt Gray the rifle as a Christmas gift along with ammunition and other accessories, and they argued the father ignored warning signs even after law enforcement asked him to restrict access to guns.
The court’s decision also left the Winder community facing continued grief, with victims’ families describing lasting pain, including Shayna Aspinwall saying she now lives with post-traumatic stress disorder and can no longer teach because of her fear of another school shooting.
As the judicial chapter closed, Primm told those present, "This only ends the judicial chapter of this tragedy. The pain and anguish continue," while the sentence required that most of Colin Gray’s convictions run concurrently for a total 15-year prison term.
