Father of Georgia School Shooter Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison

A father who gave his son the rifle used to kill four people at Apalachee High School in Georgia has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. The sentencing hearing on April 17 is part of a growing number of cases where parents face criminal liability for school shootings committed by their children.

Colin Gray, 55, was convicted in March of second-degree manslaughter for the deaths of 14-year-old students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, and for involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of teachers Richard Aspinwall and Cristina Irimie. The four victims were killed when Gray's son Colt, now 16, opened fire at his high school on September 4, 2024. Colt was sentenced to life without parole earlier this week.

Judge Nicholas Primm, who presided over both sentencing hearings, told the father directly that he had “failed as a parent.” “The loss here is immense,” Primm said. “But I must still distinguish your actions from the evil heart and actions that Colt Gray committed.”

The judge acknowledged he could have chosen a lighter sentence as suggested by Colin Gray's defense team. The father's lawyers sought a 10-year prison term followed by 10 years of probation. The judge also expressed sympathy for the victims' families who had attended the hearing. Some families had requested the maximum sentence of 80 years.

“My heart hurts for everyone who was there that day, for everyone affected by this,” Primm told the victims' families before turning to Gray. “But the law requires me to set aside emotion. I am not allowed to sentence based on sentiment. I have the nearly impossible task of sentencing you without emotion, despite the immeasurable pain you have caused.”

In Georgia, second-degree manslaughter can include causing a child's death through child cruelty. Gray's actions before his son's shooting have raised questions about parental responsibility in mass shootings.

Gray gave his son a SIG Sauer SIGM400 rifle as a Christmas present one year before the shooting. However, family members, including Marcee Gray, Colt's mother who was separated from Colin, had expressed concerns about the teenager's mental state. Marcee Gray later testified that she had urged Colin Gray before the shooting to lock up the guns and prevent their son from accessing them.

Colt Gray was just 14 when he brought a rifle to school, skipped second period, and opened fire in hallways and classrooms. In addition to the four fatalities, a third teacher and eight other students were injured in the shooting.

During Colin Gray's prosecution, Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith pointed to Colt's mental state as a warning sign, along with other indicators. Smith noted that Colt appeared to have erected a shrine in his bedroom to honor another school shooter who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

“This was a risk he ignored, that there would be a mass shooting targeting children at a school, and he gave his son exactly the tool he needed to carry it out,” Smith said of Colin Gray. The victims' families echoed this sentiment.

“He didn't pull the trigger but he bought and left a gun within reach of a minor,” said Shayna Aspinwall, wife of a slain teacher.

The sentence for Colin Gray parallels a case in Michigan, where the parents of Ethan Crumbley, then 15, faced criminal charges after their son killed four students at Oxford High School and injured seven others in 2021. The Crumbleys also gave their son a gun and denied foreknowledge of the attack. They were each sentenced to 10 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter.

During the April 17 sentencing, Judge Primm acknowledged cases like this are “controversial.” But he argued Colin Gray could have taken many actions to prevent his son's behavior. “You are convicted because the warning lights were blinking brighter and brighter, and you didn't get him treatment, and you didn't remove his access to guns,” Primm said.