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

A Georgia father went on trial Monday, as he stands accused of enabling the 2024 high school shooting that left two students and two teachers dead by giving his teenage son access to a rifle despite repeated warning signs.

Colin Gray faces nearly 30 felony counts, including second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children, in connection with the Sept. 4 attack at Apalachee High School in Winder. Prosecutors argue his decision to arm his son directly led to the killings.

“This is not a case about holding parents accountable for what their children do,” Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith told jurors during opening statements. “This case is about this defendant and his actions in allowing a child that he has custody over access to a firearm and ammunition after being warned that that child was going to harm others.”

Under Georgia law, second-degree murder can apply when someone causes the death of a child while committing cruelty to children — the underlying felony prosecutors allege in this case. Smith told jurors the charges are structured around 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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Investigators have said Colt Gray, 14 at the time, brought a semiautomatic rifle to school in his backpack, left class and opened fire in a classroom and hallways. Two school resource officers took him into custody, authorities said.

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

“You cannot hold someone criminally responsible for failing to predict what was intentionally hidden from them,” Hobbs said.

Prosecutors pointed to what they described as a pattern of escalating red flags that were not acted upon.

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In 2021, Colt Gray used a school computer to search “how to kill your dad,” Smith said. In May 2023, authorities investigated an online shooting threat traced to a computer at the Gray home after receiving a tip from the FBI. Colt Gray denied making the threat and said his account had been hacked, according to prosecutors. Smith said investigators asked Colin Gray at the time to restrict his son’s access to guns.

Despite those incidents, prosecutors allege Colin Gray gave his son the rifle as a Christmas gift later that year and continued buying accessories, including what Smith described as “a lot of ammunition.”

Smith also told jurors that on the morning of the shooting, Colt’s mother called the school after receiving alarming text messages and warned a counselor that her son had access to firearms, prompting administrators to begin searching for him.

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Prosecutors have said Colin Gray knew his son was obsessed with school shooters and had received a troubling text weeks before the attack that read: “Whenever something happens, just know the blood is on your hands.”

An investigator testified that Gray was aware his son’s mental health had deteriorated and had sought counseling services.

“We have had a very difficult past couple of years and he needs help. Anger, anxiety, quick to be volatile. I don’t know what to do,” Gray wrote, according to testimony.

Smith told jurors that despite those concerns, Gray did not pursue inpatient treatment for his son.

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The trial is being held in Barrow County, where the shooting occurred, with jurors brought in from neighboring Hall County due to pretrial publicity.

Colt Gray is behind bars while awaiting his own trial. Day 2 of testimony in his father’s trial will proceed later today. 

The case is among a growing number nationwide in which prosecutors are seeking to hold parents criminally responsible in deadly school shootings.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.