Colin Gray, the father of Georgia school shooter Colt Gray, was found guilty of murder and manslaughter charges Tuesday in a case testing the limits of who is responsible for a mass shooting.
The jury deliberated for less than two hours before convicting him on all 27 charges: Two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, 18 counts of cruelty to children and five counts of reckless conduct.
At the defense table, Colin Gray did not visibly react to the verdict. He faces 10 to 30 years in prison on each murder charge and 1 to 10 years on each manslaughter charge.
Prosecutors accused Gray of buying his son an AR-15-style rifle as a Christmas present and allowing him access to that weapon and ammunition despite warnings that his son was a danger to others. Colt Gray, then 14, used that rifle to carry out a mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, in September 2024, killing two teachers and two students and wounding nine others.
Colin Gray’s defense, though, argued he did not know about his son’s violent plans and had taken steps to get him help for his mental health troubles.
The indictment alleges his actions constitute “criminal negligence” by “consciously disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk.”
The trial is part of a broader push to hold more people accountable for a school shooting, including the shooter’s parents and responding law enforcement officers. This case bears close similarities to the trials and convictions of James and Jennifer Crumbley, whose then-15-year-old son killed four students in 2021 at his high school in Oxford, Michigan.
Colt Gray has admitted to the shooting, according to authorities. Now 16, he has pleaded not guilty to 55 felony counts, including four counts of malice murder. A trial date has not been set.
This is a developing story and will be updated.