Teen suspect and his father indicted in Georgia school shooting
Posted on 10/17/2024
WINDER, Ga. — A 14-year-old boy and his father charged in the deadly shooting at a Georgia high school last month were formally indicted by a grand jury Thursday on dozens of additional charges, a day after investigators revealed new troubling details about the attack.
Colt Gray, the suspected shooter, was arrested and charged last month with four counts of felony murder for allegedly shooting and killing two students and two teachers on Sept. 4 at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., northeast of Atlanta, where he was a freshman.
A Barrow County grand jury on Thursday formally indicted the teenager on those charges and added several others — including 25 counts of aggravated assault and 18 counts of cruelty to children in the first degree. He now stands accused of both felony murder and malice murder, which requires forethought.
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Prosecutors sought charges not only for the four people Colt Gray allegedly killed, but four others who were wounded by gunfire, four people who were grazed by shrapnel or bullets and 14 others who were fired upon but uninjured in the attack. He faces 55 total counts under the indictment.
Colin Gray, the alleged shooter’s father who was arrested and charged last month on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the attack, was also indicted by the same grand jury on 29 counts, including 20 counts of cruelty to children in the second degree. The charges are tied to any child that Colt Gray allegedly fired upon.
Colin Gray was also charged with four counts of reckless conduct. Prosecutors have accused the elder Gray, 54, of allowing his son to have access to the AR-style rifle used in the attack while knowing his son was a “threat” to himself and others.
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Both father and son are scheduled to appear in Barrow County Superior Court on Nov. 21 for an arraignment hearing, where they are expected to enter formal pleas to the charges and tentative trial dates could be set.
The formal indictments come more than a month after Colt Gray allegedly smuggled an AR-style rifle, given to him as a Christmas gift by his father, inside his backpack into Apalachee High School and opened fire on students and staff after leaving his second-period algebra class.
After a confrontation with school resource officers at the scene, Gray was detained and is being held at a juvenile facility in Gainesville, Ga., even as state officials say they plan to prosecute him as an adult. He faces life in prison if convicted.
Attorneys for Colin Gray have already signaled they plan to vigorously challenge the charges — the first time the parent of an alleged school shooter has been charged with murder. The elder Gray faces upward of 180 years in prison if convicted.
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A Post investigation published earlier this month revealed troubling details about Colt Gray’s life leading up to the shooting — including a traumatic childhood riddled with alleged abuse and neglect by his parents and repeated failures by public agencies that interacted with him and his family to intervene.
The indictments came a day after state investigators revealed disturbing details about the attack during a preliminary hearing for Colin Gray, which had been requested by his attorneys to have a judge determine whether prosecutors had enough evidence to move forward with charges against him.
Agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation revealed they had recovered a black notebook near the desk where Colt Gray had been sitting the morning of the attack. The notebook had meticulous notes and drawings that suggested the teenager had allegedly been documenting his plans for the attack. The notebook included sketches of the hallway and classroom where the deadly shooting took place accompanied by estimated casualty counts.
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Lucas Beyer, a GBI special agent, testified that a page in the notebook featured two columns designated “hallway” and “classroom.”
“In the hallway column, it’s written, ‘I’m thinking, three to four people killed; Injured, question mark, four to five,’” Beyer testified. “Under the classroom column is written, ‘15 to 17 killed; Injured, question mark, two to three.’”
In parentheses off to the side, Beyer testified, there was another notation. “Surprise if I make it this far,” it read.
Investigators also said Colt Gray maintained a “shrine” in his bedroom to previous school shootings, which investigators said included a photo of Nikolas Cruz, the gunman in the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Fla. Cruz pleaded guilty to killing 17 students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and was sentenced to life in prison.
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According to testimony, the elder Gray told investigators that he had questioned his son after he noticed Colt Gray had replaced a photo of a rock musician hanging on his bedroom wall with a photo of Cruz.
Speaking to law enforcement after the shooting, Colin Gray recounted that he had asked his son who the man in the photo was. “Dad, you really don’t know who that is?” Colt Gray allegedly replied.
“No, son, I don’t,” Colin Gray allegedly told his son.
Kelsey Ward, a GBI special agent, said Colin Gray told her that he “dropped” the subject but later pressed his son again about the image. “Colt explained it was Nikolas Cruz, a previous school shooter,” Ward testified, recounting what Colin Gray told investigators.
When Colin Gray asked his son why Cruz was on his wall, Colt Gray allegedly said that he “just” was. “There wasn’t any further discussion about that,” Ward said, recounting what Gray told law enforcement.
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Prosecutors elicited testimony that sought to portray Colin Gray as a neglectful father who ignored his son’s deteriorating mental health and obsession with school shootings, even as he purchased him the weapon ultimately used in the Apalachee shooting, along with extended ammunition magazines and other items.
Agents pointed out that Colin Gray did not phone or drive to the school even after receiving disturbing text messages from his son and later from his daughter, a student at the middle school next door to Apalachee, which also went on lockdown after the shooting.
Instead, the elder Gray told investigators that he left work, went home and turned on the television, where he saw news of the attack, an agent testified. He then checked to see if the gun he had given Colt Gray for Christmas was in the house and found it missing.
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When Barrow County sheriff’s officers arrived at the Gray home, Colin Gray behaved in a “not surprised” manner about the shooting and showed no remorse, Ward testified, citing body-camera video of the scene. He told the officers about the texts from Colt Gray.
When his daughter texted him that she was on lockdown, Colin Gray told officers that he replied, “God Almighty, please tell me that your brother didn’t do something.”
After a roughly 90-minute hearing, Barrow County Chief Magistrate Judge Caroline Powers Evans found “probable cause” for the case against Colin Gray to proceed.
Colt Gray, the suspected shooter, was arrested and charged last month with four counts of felony murder for allegedly shooting and killing two students and two teachers on Sept. 4 at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., northeast of Atlanta, where he was a freshman.
A Barrow County grand jury on Thursday formally indicted the teenager on those charges and added several others — including 25 counts of aggravated assault and 18 counts of cruelty to children in the first degree. He now stands accused of both felony murder and malice murder, which requires forethought.
Advertisement
Prosecutors sought charges not only for the four people Colt Gray allegedly killed, but four others who were wounded by gunfire, four people who were grazed by shrapnel or bullets and 14 others who were fired upon but uninjured in the attack. He faces 55 total counts under the indictment.
Colin Gray, the alleged shooter’s father who was arrested and charged last month on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the attack, was also indicted by the same grand jury on 29 counts, including 20 counts of cruelty to children in the second degree. The charges are tied to any child that Colt Gray allegedly fired upon.
Colin Gray was also charged with four counts of reckless conduct. Prosecutors have accused the elder Gray, 54, of allowing his son to have access to the AR-style rifle used in the attack while knowing his son was a “threat” to himself and others.
Advertisement
Both father and son are scheduled to appear in Barrow County Superior Court on Nov. 21 for an arraignment hearing, where they are expected to enter formal pleas to the charges and tentative trial dates could be set.
The formal indictments come more than a month after Colt Gray allegedly smuggled an AR-style rifle, given to him as a Christmas gift by his father, inside his backpack into Apalachee High School and opened fire on students and staff after leaving his second-period algebra class.
After a confrontation with school resource officers at the scene, Gray was detained and is being held at a juvenile facility in Gainesville, Ga., even as state officials say they plan to prosecute him as an adult. He faces life in prison if convicted.
Attorneys for Colin Gray have already signaled they plan to vigorously challenge the charges — the first time the parent of an alleged school shooter has been charged with murder. The elder Gray faces upward of 180 years in prison if convicted.
Advertisement
A Post investigation published earlier this month revealed troubling details about Colt Gray’s life leading up to the shooting — including a traumatic childhood riddled with alleged abuse and neglect by his parents and repeated failures by public agencies that interacted with him and his family to intervene.
The indictments came a day after state investigators revealed disturbing details about the attack during a preliminary hearing for Colin Gray, which had been requested by his attorneys to have a judge determine whether prosecutors had enough evidence to move forward with charges against him.
Agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation revealed they had recovered a black notebook near the desk where Colt Gray had been sitting the morning of the attack. The notebook had meticulous notes and drawings that suggested the teenager had allegedly been documenting his plans for the attack. The notebook included sketches of the hallway and classroom where the deadly shooting took place accompanied by estimated casualty counts.
Advertisement
Lucas Beyer, a GBI special agent, testified that a page in the notebook featured two columns designated “hallway” and “classroom.”
“In the hallway column, it’s written, ‘I’m thinking, three to four people killed; Injured, question mark, four to five,’” Beyer testified. “Under the classroom column is written, ‘15 to 17 killed; Injured, question mark, two to three.’”
In parentheses off to the side, Beyer testified, there was another notation. “Surprise if I make it this far,” it read.
Investigators also said Colt Gray maintained a “shrine” in his bedroom to previous school shootings, which investigators said included a photo of Nikolas Cruz, the gunman in the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Fla. Cruz pleaded guilty to killing 17 students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and was sentenced to life in prison.
Advertisement
According to testimony, the elder Gray told investigators that he had questioned his son after he noticed Colt Gray had replaced a photo of a rock musician hanging on his bedroom wall with a photo of Cruz.
Speaking to law enforcement after the shooting, Colin Gray recounted that he had asked his son who the man in the photo was. “Dad, you really don’t know who that is?” Colt Gray allegedly replied.
“No, son, I don’t,” Colin Gray allegedly told his son.
Kelsey Ward, a GBI special agent, said Colin Gray told her that he “dropped” the subject but later pressed his son again about the image. “Colt explained it was Nikolas Cruz, a previous school shooter,” Ward testified, recounting what Colin Gray told investigators.
When Colin Gray asked his son why Cruz was on his wall, Colt Gray allegedly said that he “just” was. “There wasn’t any further discussion about that,” Ward said, recounting what Gray told law enforcement.
Advertisement
Prosecutors elicited testimony that sought to portray Colin Gray as a neglectful father who ignored his son’s deteriorating mental health and obsession with school shootings, even as he purchased him the weapon ultimately used in the Apalachee shooting, along with extended ammunition magazines and other items.
Agents pointed out that Colin Gray did not phone or drive to the school even after receiving disturbing text messages from his son and later from his daughter, a student at the middle school next door to Apalachee, which also went on lockdown after the shooting.
Instead, the elder Gray told investigators that he left work, went home and turned on the television, where he saw news of the attack, an agent testified. He then checked to see if the gun he had given Colt Gray for Christmas was in the house and found it missing.
Advertisement
When Barrow County sheriff’s officers arrived at the Gray home, Colin Gray behaved in a “not surprised” manner about the shooting and showed no remorse, Ward testified, citing body-camera video of the scene. He told the officers about the texts from Colt Gray.
When his daughter texted him that she was on lockdown, Colin Gray told officers that he replied, “God Almighty, please tell me that your brother didn’t do something.”
After a roughly 90-minute hearing, Barrow County Chief Magistrate Judge Caroline Powers Evans found “probable cause” for the case against Colin Gray to proceed.
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