Colt Gray and his father, Colin Gray, have been indicted by a Barrow County grand jury.
Colt Gray, 14, was indicted Thursday on 55 charges for the Sept. 4 mass shooting at Apalachee High School. Charges include: four counts of felony murder, four counts of malice murder, four counts of aggravated battery, 18 counts of cruelty to children in the first degree and 25 counts of aggravated assault.
Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn, both 14-year-old students, and teacher Cristina Irimie and Coach Richard Aspinwall were killed in the shooting.
According to the indictment, there were a total of 25 victims, including the four fatalities. A teacher and three students were shot and injured, and three students were grazed by shrapnel. Plus, 14 others, including teachers and students, were not physically injured but in the line of fire.
According to the indictment, the aggravated assault charges are due to Colt Gray “discharging a firearm multiple times inside a classroom” occupied by a number of the victims. Investigators said Gray entered a classroom near his second period class and opened fire, shooting and killing Angulo.
His father, Colin Gray, is facing 29 charges for providing Colt Gray with the gun, including: two counts of murder in the second-degree, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, five counts of reckless conduct and 20 counts of cruelty to children in the second degree.
According to the indictment, Colin Gray allowed his son, Colt Gray, “access to a firearm and ammunition after receiving sufficient warning that Colt Gray would harm and endanger the bodily safety of another” and caused “with criminal negligence” the death of the four victims.
GBI agents testified Wednesday that Colin Gray had purchased a SIG Sauer M400, which was used in the shooting, and gave it to his son for Christmas. He later bought his son a tactical vest, ammunition and sights for the weapon and larger-capacity magazines for the rifle at his son’s request.
The two murder in the second-degree charges are tied to the two students’ deaths, while the two involuntary manslaughter charges are tied to the teachers’ deaths.
The charges against Colin Gray are believed to be a first of its kind in Georgia and only the second nationally, after the parents of a Michigan school shooter were convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The Michigan parents were sentenced in April to at least 10 years in prison.
Credit: John Spink
Credit: John Spink
District Attorney Brad Smith, who is prosecuting the case, told reporters that the two will be tried separately but didn’t indicate when they might go to trial. He said he’s ready if either defendant files a demand for a speedy trial.
”We hope this can start the process of healing for the community. The charged victims we have are the ones that the crime was actually directed towards but every person, every kid in that school was a victim,” Smith said.
Attorneys for both Colin and Colt Gray could not be reached for comment Thursday.
An arraignment hearing has been scheduled for both to take place Nov. 21.
Additional details of the deadliest school shooting in Georgia’s history were revealed Wednesday including that Colt Gray planned out the deadly attack in a notebook and had a fascination with previous school shooters, a fact known by his parents.
An investigation revealed Colt Gray brought the gun into the school inside his bookbag. The backpack couldn’t conceal the full weapon so Gray used a rolled up poster board to cover the rest, which investigators said made it appear like he was simply transporting a school project.
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