WINDER, Georgia — The father who gave his troubled teenage son the rifle used to murder four people at Apalachee High School was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison.
A Georgia jury convicted Colin Gray in March of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, reckless conduct and cruelty to children. Prosecutors said Gray gave his son, Colt, an AR-style rifle for Christmas despite numerous warning signs and a previous law-enforcement investigation into an online threat to attack a school.
Judge Nicholas Primm said Gray failed to obtain counseling for his son or remove firearms from their home. He acknowledged that Gray did not carry out the shooting but said his criminal negligence was inseparable from the devastating consequences.
Colt Gray was 14 when he killed students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall and Cristina Irimie on Sept. 4, 2024. Nine other people were injured. Colt, now 16, pleaded guilty to 55 charges and received life in prison without parole.
Victims’ relatives urged the judge to impose the maximum sentence. Maria Schermerhorn, Mason’s mother, said parenting can be difficult, but parents remain responsible for what they place in their children’s hands.
Prosecutors argued Colin Gray ignored an obvious risk and supplied his son with the weapon needed to carry out the massacre.
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