Colin Gray, 55, faces sentencing after a jury convicted him of providing the AR-15–style rifle his son used in a September 2024 school shooting at Apalachee High School that killed four people. His son, Colt Gray, pleaded guilty to 55 counts and received life without parole. The jury found the father guilty on 27 counts, with prosecutors seeking an 80-year term and the defense asking for 10 years. Victims’ family members addressed the court as the judge prepared to impose sentence.
Father To Be Sentenced After Conviction In Son’s Deadly Georgia School Shooting
Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP - PHOTO: Colin Gray, the father of Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray, listens during his trial, Feb. 27, 2026, at the Barrow County Courthouse in Winder, Ga.
Colin Gray, 55, is set to be sentenced after a jury found him criminally responsible for supplying the AR-15–style rifle used by his son in a September 2024 mass shooting at Apalachee High School that killed two students and two teachers.
Trial Overview
The jury in Barrow County convicted Gray on 27 counts in March, including second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, cruelty to children in the second degree and reckless conduct. Prosecutors say the evidence showed he gave the weapon to his then-14-year-old son months after police advised him to restrict the teen's access to firearms. Jurors reached their verdict in fewer than two hours.
Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Pool via AP - PHOTO: Colt Gray, the 16-year-old Apalachee High School shooting suspect, is led in by deputies for his sentencing at Barrow County Superior Court, on July 27, 2026, in Winder, Ga.
The Shooting And Plea
Prosecutors say 16-year-old Colt Gray pleaded guilty to all 55 counts he faced — including multiple counts of murder and aggravated assault — and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Testimony and exhibits presented at Colin Gray’s trial included accounts of prior warnings about the teen’s fascination with mass shooters and a shrine to the 2018 Parkland attacker in the teen’s bedroom.
Sentencing Arguments
At the sentencing hearing, prosecutors urged a severe punishment, asking for an 80-year term. District Attorney Brad Smith told the judge that Gray ignored repeated warnings and provided his son the weapon that made the attack possible.
Jason Getz/AP - PHOTO: District Attorney Brad Smith, left, points to a weapon that was displayed on the screen during the first day of the trial of Colin Gray, the father of Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray, February 16, 2026.
"You just had to do one thing — take that rifle away — and this would have been prevented," Smith said, adding that Gray is responsible for the deaths, injuries and trauma left in the attack’s wake.
Defense attorney Chris Hobbs asked the court to impose a 10-year sentence, arguing the case was unprecedented in Georgia and that Gray misread — rather than intentionally ignored — warning signs about his son's behavior.
Defendant’s Testimony
Gray testified in his own defense and broke down on the stand when asked whether he had recognized red flags. He acknowledged giving his son the rifle as a Christmas present but said it came with conditions: supervised range time and the promise that the weapon would be transferred permanently only if the teen met behavioral expectations and turned 18.
Victims’ Families And Wider Context
Family members of the victims spoke at the hearing, describing enduring grief and trauma. Legal experts note the conviction joins a string of recent U.S. cases in which parents were prosecuted for their children’s mass shootings — including the 2024 Crumbley case in Michigan and the 2023 case involving Robert Crimo Jr. — highlighting growing scrutiny of parental responsibility in such attacks.
The court was expected to announce Colin Gray’s sentence later that day.
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