The father of a 14-year-old boy accused of carrying out mass shooting at a Georgia high school has pleaded not guilty to a raft of charges.
Colin Gray did not appear in the Georgia court on Thursday, however his lawyers entered the plea on his behalf and proceeded to waive a formal arraignment.
The 54-year-old father was indicted on 29 charges last month, including second-degree murder, manslaughter, cruelty to children and reckless conduct.
Each charge is in connection with his son’s horrific Setember 4 attack at Appalache High School, where he allegedly opened fire on students and staff, killing four.
Prosecutors have sought to portray Gray, who is being tried separately from his son, as a negligent father who knowingly ignored his teen child’s declining mental health and budding obsession with school shootings.
Colin is accused of allowing his son to have access to the high-powered AR-style rifle used in the attack – even as he had ‘knowledge that he was a threat to himself and others.’
Witnesses in the case have also testified that the father purchased a laser sight, tactical vest and ammunition for his son ahead of the deadly shooting.
At a preliminary hearing for the ‘negligent’ father, an investigator testified that Colt had put up a ‘shrine’ in his bedroom of previous school shootings, including a photo of Nikolas Cruz – the gunman in the 2018 shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida.
Colin Gray, 54, the father of a 14-year-old boy accused of executing a mass shooting at a Georgia high school pleaded not guilty to the 29 counts brought against him
Colin Gray did not appear in the Georgia court on Thursday, however his lawyers told the judge during the brief, near five minute hearing that their client pleads not guilty and proceeded to waive a formal arraignment
The charges come nearly two months after Gray’s son, 14-year-old Colt Gray (pictured), allegedly opened fire at his 1,900-student high school, killing two of his classmates and two teachers
Prosecutors have also called attention to the fact that Colin Gray did not call the high school on the morning of the shooting, even after receiving disturbing text messages from his son.
The charges come nearly two months after Gray’s son, 14-year-old Colt Gray, allegedly opened fire at his 1,900-student high school, killing two of his classmates, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and two teachers, Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53.
Another teacher and eight more students were wounded in the incursion, seven of them hit by gunfire.
That fateful morning, the teen allegedly hid the long-barreled gun inside of a poster board neatly tucked in his bookbag while aboard a school bus, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent said.
Colt Gray later left his second-period classroom and headed to the restroom with his backpack. The teen then exited the bathroom wearing gloves and set with the poster board in front of him, in an attempt to conceal the murder weapon, security footage revealed.
He then approached the door of his math class to get back in, but a student who went to let him in realized what was happening, backed up and told the teacher.
The teacher then went to the door window, told her students to hunker down in the corner of the classroom and initiated a lockdown, the GBI agent detailed.
Colt Gray then went on to enter another classroom and started shooting his gun, hitting six to seven people in the span of about seven seconds.
That fateful morning, the teen allegedly hid the long-barreled gun inside of a poster board neatly tucked in his bookbag while aboard a school bus, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent said. Pictured: Police tape surrounds the perimeter of Apalachee High School on September 5, 2024 in Winder, Georgia
Students Mason Schermerhorn, 14 (top left), Christian Angulo, 14 (top right), and teachers Richard Aspinwall (bottom right) and Christina Irimie (bottom left) were killed in the shooting
Last month, the disgraced teen entered a written plea of not guilty to all charges and faces life in prison if convicted. Pictured: Colt Gray, 14, appears in court on September 6
The shooter then went back to the bathroom around 10:22 am before firing multiple shots at a teacher, the GBI agent added.
He then turned around and shot two coaches, before firing at a student who was exiting the bathroom, killing them.
Following that, two school resource officers then approached the armed teen and ordered him to put the gun down.
According to the GBI agent, the teen left behind a notebook when he left for the bathroom. The notebook contained a detailed plan inside of how he was going to carry out the horrific crime, along with an estimate of how many people would die and drawings of his classroom.
Colt Gray was later arrested and charged the day following the deadly shooting and has since been detained without bond at the Barrow County Detention Center.
Last month, the disgraced teen entered a written plea of not guilty to all charges and faces life in prison if convicted.
The grueling case marks the first time a parent of an alleged school shooter has been charged with murder.
The 54-year-old father’s indictment stands as one of the latest examples of parents being held accountable for their children’s actions in school shootings.
In 2021, parents of Oxford, Michigan student, Ethan Crumbley, who killed four students and injured seven others – were the first to be convicted in a US mass school shooting.
The pair, Jennifer and Jason Crumbley, were sentenced to at least 10 years in prison for not securing a firearm at home and of ‘acting indifferently’ to signs of their son’s declining mental health ahead of his brutal killings.
