Georgia father on trial, accused of giving son rifle before school shooting

A Georgia begetter went connected proceedings Monday, arsenic helium stands accused of enabling the 2024 precocious schoolhouse shooting that near 2 students and 2 teachers dormant by giving his teenage lad entree to a firearm contempt repeated informing signs.

Colin Gray faces astir 30 felony counts, including second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children, successful transportation with the Sept. 4 onslaught astatine Apalachee High School successful Winder. Prosecutors reason his determination to limb his lad straight led to the killings.

"This is not a lawsuit astir holding parents accountable for what their children do," Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith told jurors during opening statements. "This lawsuit is astir this suspect and his actions successful allowing a kid that helium has custody implicit entree to a firearm and ammunition aft being warned that that kid was going to harm others."

Under Georgia law, second-degree execution tin use erstwhile idiosyncratic causes the decease of a kid portion committing cruelty to children — the underlying felony prosecutors allege successful this case. Smith told jurors the charges are structured astir the victims, tying cruelty-to-children counts to the deaths of the students and reckless-conduct allegations to involuntary manslaughter counts for the slain teachers.

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District Attorney Brad Smith, left, points to a limb that was displayed connected the surface during the archetypal time of the proceedings of Colin Gray, the begetter of Apalachee High School shooting fishy Colt Gray, successful the courtroom astatine the Barrow County courthouse, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, successful Winder, Ga. (Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Investigators person said Colt Gray, 14 astatine the time, brought a semiautomatic firearm to schoolhouse successful his backpack, near people and opened occurrence successful a schoolroom and hallways. Two schoolhouse assets officers took him into custody, authorities said.

Defense lawyer Brian Hobbs argued the teen hid his plans from his father. 

"You cannot clasp idiosyncratic criminally liable for failing to foretell what was intentionally hidden from them," Hobbs said.

Prosecutors pointed to what they described arsenic a signifier of escalating reddish flags that were not acted upon.

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In 2021, Colt Gray utilized a schoolhouse machine to hunt "how to termination your dad," Smith said. In May 2023, authorities investigated an online shooting menace traced to a machine astatine the Gray location aft receiving a extremity from the FBI. Colt Gray denied making the menace and said his relationship had been hacked, according to prosecutors. Smith said investigators asked Colin Gray astatine the clip to restrict his son’s entree to guns.

Colin Gray, the begetter of Apalachee High School shooting fishy Colt Gray, looks down arsenic his lawyer gives his opening connection successful the courtroom astatine the Barrow County courthouse, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, successful Winder, Ga.  (Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Despite those incidents, prosecutors allege Colin Gray gave his lad the firearm arsenic a Christmas acquisition aboriginal that twelvemonth and continued buying accessories, including what Smith described arsenic "a batch of ammunition."

Smith besides told jurors that connected the greeting of the shooting, Colt’s parent called the schoolhouse aft receiving alarming substance messages and warned a counsellor that her lad had entree to firearms, prompting administrators to statesman searching for him.

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Prosecutors person said Colin Gray knew his lad was obsessed with schoolhouse shooters and had received a troubling substance weeks earlier the onslaught that read: "Whenever thing happens, conscionable cognize the humor is connected your hands."

An researcher testified that Gray was alert his son’s intelligence wellness had deteriorated and had sought counseling services.

Colin Gray, the begetter of Apalachee High School shooting fishy Colt Gray, looks down arsenic his lawyer gives his opening connection successful the courtroom astatine the Barrow County courthouse, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, successful Winder, Ga. (Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

"We person had a precise hard past mates of years and helium needs help. Anger, anxiety, speedy to beryllium volatile. I don’t cognize what to do," Gray wrote, according to testimony.

Smith told jurors that contempt those concerns, Gray did not prosecute inpatient attraction for his son.

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The proceedings is being held successful Barrow County, wherever the shooting occurred, with jurors brought successful from neighboring Hall County owed to pretrial publicity.

Colt Gray is down bars portion awaiting his ain trial. Day 2 of grounds successful his father's proceedings volition proceed aboriginal today. 

The lawsuit is among a increasing fig nationwide successful which prosecutors are seeking to clasp parents criminally liable successful deadly schoolhouse shootings.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.