Colin Gray trial: Jury selection begins for father charged in Apalachee High School shooting
Jury selection begins Monday in the trial of a Georgia father accused of helping set the stage for one of the deadliest school shootings in the state's history.
Colin Gray is charged in connection with the September 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, where prosecutors say his teenage son killed four people and wounded nine others. Gray's trial will begin before his son's murder case, which has not yet been scheduled.
Gray faces 29 charges, including two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, and multiple counts of second-degree cruelty to children. Prosecutors say he gave his son access to the assault-style rifle used in the shooting despite warning signs about the boy's mental health and violent obsessions.
Teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, along with two 14-year-old students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo were killed in the shooting. Another teacher and eight students were injured.
Colt Gray, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, is accused of carefully planning the attack. Investigators have said he wrote step-by-step plans in a notebook, including diagrams and potential body counts. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent testified that the teen brought the semiautomatic rifle to school in his backpack and began shooting after leaving a bathroom.
Authorities say Colin Gray gave his son the gun as a Christmas gift the year before the shooting and later bought a larger magazine so the weapon could hold more ammunition. Prosecutors argue that the decision amounts to cruelty to children under Georgia law, which allows for second-degree murder charges when a child's death results from such conduct.
Investigators have said the father knew his son was struggling. Weeks before the shooting, Gray contacted a counseling service seeking help, writing that his son was dealing with anger, anxiety, and volatility. Prosecutors also say Gray was aware his son was obsessed with mass school shootings and had a shrine in his bedroom dedicated to the Parkland, Florida, shooter.
Those details, prosecutors say, led a grand jury to indict Gray.
Gray has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The trial will be held in Barrow County, where Apalachee High School is located, but jury selection will take place in neighboring Hall County after defense attorneys requested a change of venue due to extensive publicity. Prosecutors agreed that the impact of the shooting on the local community could make it difficult to seat an impartial jury.
Gray has been held in jail since his arrest the day after the shooting. His bond was set at $500,000.
The judge has set aside about three weeks for jury selection and the trial. The date for Colt Gray's murder trial has not yet been determined.
