Georgia father to be sentenced for supplying rifle used in high school shooting
Colin Gray, 56, will be sentenced for providing the AR-15-style rifle used by his son in the September 2024 Apalachee High School shooting that killed four people, after a jury found him guilty on 27 counts.
A Barrow County jury convicted Colin Gray, 56, of 27 charges, including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, for supplying the assault rifle used by his son in the September 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia. The attack claimed the lives of two students and two teachers. Gray admitted that he gave the AR-15-style weapon to his then-14-year-old son, Colt Gray, as a Christmas present and testified that the gun was to be used only at a shooting range if the boy met certain conditions.
Colt Gray, now 16, pleaded guilty to all 55 counts against him and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Colin Gray is scheduled to appear before Judge Nicholas Primm on Thursday, where he faces a potential sentence of more than 100 years.
Prosecutors presented evidence that the father had been warned about his son’s fascination with previous mass shooters, including a shrine to the 2018 Parkland shooter, and that he failed to seek mental-health assistance. Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith said multiple warnings were ignored and that removing the rifle could have prevented the tragedy.
The case adds to a growing list of U.S. parents convicted for enabling their children’s school shootings. In 2024, Jennifer and James Crumbley were sentenced for their role in the Oxford, Michigan shooting, and in 2023, Robert Crimo Jr. received a brief jail term for his son’s Highland Park parade attack. Another ongoing case involves Jeffrey Rupnow, charged in Wisconsin for allegedly allowing his daughter access to firearms used in a school shooting.