The father of Georgia school shooter Colt Gray has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after a judge found he played a critical role in the deadly 2024 attack at Apalachee High School.
Colin Gray was convicted on charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter after prosecutors argued he gave his troubled teenage son the AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting, despite numerous warning signs about the boy’s deteriorating mental health and violent behavior. The attack claimed the lives of two students and two teachers and injured several others.
During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Colin Gray ignored repeated concerns about his son’s fascination with mass shootings, failed to secure firearms in the home, and continued allowing him access to weapons despite warnings from family members and law enforcement. The judge said Gray’s negligence directly contributed to the tragedy, while noting there was no evidence he knew his son was planning the attack.
The case is one of the most significant examples yet of holding a parent criminally responsible for a child’s mass shooting. Prosecutors had sought a much longer sentence, but the court imposed 15 years in prison. Just days earlier, Colt Gray was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to murdering four people in the September 2024 school shooting.