WARNING: The above trial may contain graphic and disturbing material. FOX 5 Atlanta will not be showing certain exhibits or video, but viewers can still expect to hear disturbing statements and testimony.
The trial began Monday morning for Colin Gray, the father of the teenager charged in the Sept. 4, 2024, mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County.
Defense Opening Statements
11:30 A.M. | In his opening statement, defense counsel for Colin Gray acknowledged the horror of the Apalachee High School shooting but argued the trial is not about the tragedy itself — it is about whether Colin Gray knew his son planned to carry out the attack.
“The courtroom is not a place where we punish people because we’re angry or grieving. This is a place where we follow the law — and the law requires proof,” defense attorney Brian Hobbs said.
The defense emphasized that the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Gray had sufficient warning his son would commit violence and consciously disregarded that risk. Attorneys argued that criminal liability requires proof that Gray knew the shooting was probable — not merely possible — and that hindsight cannot be used to fill gaps in evidence.
“You cannot hold someone criminally responsible for failing to predict what was intentionally hidden from them,” Hobbs told the jury.
The defense presented Colt Gray as a troubled teenager who concealed his plans from everyone, including his father, school counselors, law enforcement, child protective services and even his siblings. Hobbs said Colt maintained a “double life,” sending normal and affectionate text messages to his father while secretly drafting plans for violence in private phone notes and online accounts.
Jurors were told that months before the shooting, Colt had hidden notes on his phone outlining early stages of planning, originally targeting February 2025 to coincide with the anniversary of the Parkland shooting. The defense suggested the plan was accelerated in September 2024 — around the same time Colin Gray was actively pursuing mental health treatment for his son through the school. An appointment with a counselor had already been scheduled for the day after the shooting.
The defense also addressed a May 2023 encounter with law enforcement regarding online threats. Body camera footage, they said, will show Colin Gray cooperating fully and telling officers that if his son had made credible threats, the guns would be removed immediately. Officers reportedly told him they were unsure whether Colt was responsible for the online posts.
Attorneys highlighted text messages showing daily communication between father and son — discussions about school, encouragement, mental health struggles, and routine parenting concerns. They argued there were no texts in which Colt threatened violence or disclosed plans to attack the school.
The defense further claimed that Colt’s mother had knowledge of his interest in school shooters — including alleged contact with Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz — but did not share that information with Colin Gray.
The defense maintained that Colin Gray sought help for his son, stayed involved in his life, and could not have consciously disregarded a risk that was deliberately concealed from him.
Hobbs closed by urging jurors not to let grief, anger or hindsight replace the legal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
Prosecution opening statements
10:30 A.M. | Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith told jurors the state is focusing on Colin Gray’s actions, not trying to create a broad rule that parents are automatically responsible for their children’s crimes. Smith said prosecutors will argue Gray let a child in his custody have access to a gun and ammunition despite warnings the child could hurt others — decisions the state says led to the September 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School.
“This is not a case about holding parents accountable for what their children do. That’s not what this case is about. This case is about this defendant and his actions – 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,” Smith said.
Smith then gave a detailed account of the morning of Sept. 4, 2024, describing Colt Gray as a 14-year-old new student who had been back in school only a handful of days. Smith said Colt brought a SIG Sauer M400 AR-style rifle to campus in a backpack. He said Colt asked a first-period teacher about active shooter drills, raising concern and prompting staff to alert school administrators.
Smith said attention then turned to a call from Colt’s mother, Marcy Gray, who was in Fitzgerald. He said she contacted the school counselor after receiving troubling texts and being unable to reach her son. Near the end of that call, Smith said, she told the counselor Colt had access to firearms — information that triggered an urgent response by administrators and school resource officers. Smith told jurors the search was complicated when staff initially looked for the wrong student because of a similar name, and administrators then worked to locate Colt using security cameras.
Smith said Colt later came out of a bathroom wearing gloves and carrying the rifle concealed with a poster board. Unable to get back into a locked classroom, Smith said, Colt went into another room and opened fire. Smith described multiple victims being shot, including student Christian Angulo and teachers Cristina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall, who later died. Smith said student Mason Schermerhorn was shot after leaving a bathroom. Two school resource officers confronted Colt and took him into custody before he could shoot again, Smith said, and investigators recovered the rifle and additional loaded magazines.
Smith also described a large police and medical response, complicated by false threats involving other schools that required officers to clear additional campuses. He said deputies were later sent to secure the shooter’s home, where Colin Gray reacted after receiving a lockdown message from his daughter and fearing his son was involved.
To support the state’s case, Smith pointed to what he described as a longer pattern of warning signs leading up to the shooting. He referenced frequent moves, prior DFCS involvement and earlier law enforcement concerns, including an FBI tip in 2023 tied to online threats. Smith said investigators asked Colin Gray to restrict Colt’s access to guns. Smith also described alleged mental health struggles and escalating behavior in 2023 and 2024, and said the state will argue Colin Gray still provided access to the rifle and ammunition.
Smith told jurors the charges are structured based on the victims. For children, he said the state is tying cruelty-to-children counts to second-degree murder where deaths occurred. For adults, he said the state is using reckless-conduct allegations as the basis for involuntary manslaughter counts. Smith said prosecutors will ask the jury to return guilty verdicts at the end of the trial.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS AS DESCRIBED DURING OPENING STATEMENTS
March 4, 2020 – Family moves to Fitzgerald, Georgia.
Sept. 19, 2021 – School computer searches include “abuse” and later “how to kill your dad”; a DFCS case is opened.
November 2021 – Family relocates to Jackson County.
February 2022 – Children are enrolled in school in Jackson County.
November 2022 – Marcy and two children move back to Fitzgerald; Colt stays with Colin in Jackson County.
March 2023 – DFCS worker begins monthly visits to check on Colt.
May 21, 2023 – FBI tip relayed to Jackson County about Discord threats; investigators speak with Colin and ask him to restrict Colt’s gun access.
June 23, 2023 – Colin signs a lease to move to Winder.
August 2023 – Colt briefly enrolls at Haymon Morris Middle School but is withdrawn after three days and returns to Fitzgerald.
Early October 2023 – Colt returns to Winder to live with Colin; does not attend school.
Oct. 13, 2023 – Marcy tests positive for drugs; Colin is told to pick up the other children and gains sole custody; DFCS urges school enrollment and counseling.
Nov. 6, 2023 – Marcy travels to Winder and is arrested after damaging Colin’s truck.
December 2023 (Christmas) – Colin reportedly buys and gives Colt the SIG Sauer M400 rifle.
February 2024 – Younger siblings are enrolled in school; Colt does not attend and misses the full eighth-grade year.
Spring 2024 – Speaker says Colin buys rifle accessories and ammunition.
July 6, 2024 – Marcy returns from rehab; Colt’s behavior reportedly worsens.
July 20, 2024 – Colt has a panic episode at home and asks for 911. It does not appear a call was made.
Aug. 14, 2024 – Colt’s first day at Apalachee; Colt allegedly sends threatening texts to his father.
Aug. 15, 2024 – Speaker alleges Colt shoves his mother during an attempt to take the rifle; mother reportedly asks Colin to lock it up, and he does not.
Aug. 26, 2024 – Panic episode at school; Colt spends day with counselor; later asks grandmother if she would still love him if he did “something terrible.”
Aug. 28, 2024 – Colt texts that he hears voices telling him what to do.
Aug. 31, 2024 – Saturday identified as an option for crisis facility intake if a parent brings Colt.
Sept. 3, 2024 – Colt skips school again.
Sept. 4, 2024 – Shooting at Apalachee High School:
9:38 a.m. Colt leaves first period.
- 9:40 a.m. Colt enters second period.
- 9:54 a.m. Colt leaves second period saying he’s going to counseling.
- 9:59 a.m. Mother’s call with counselor ends; firearms access is mentioned near the end.
- 10:21 a.m. Colt exits bathroom with rifle concealed.
- 10:22 a.m. Shooting begins around this time.
Colt surrenders after SROs confront him; rifle and additional magazines are recovered, the transcript says.
Sept. 4, 2024 (post-shooting texts) – Messages reportedly exchanged between Colin and daughter Jenny at 11:01 a.m. and 12:19 p.m.
ORIGINAL STORY
Opening statements are scheduled for Monday as the trial begins for Colin Gray, the father of the teenager charged in the Sept. 4, 2024, mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County.
Prosecutors say Colt Gray carried out the attack that killed two teachers — Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall and Cristina Irimie — and two students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, and left nine others wounded. Colt Gray’s case does not yet have a trial date, and his attorneys have said a mental evaluation was still pending as the defense continues reviewing evidence.
Colin Gray was arrested after his son and is charged with 29 felony counts. The charges include two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, multiple counts of second-degree cruelty to children and reckless conduct. If convicted on all counts, he could face up to 180 years in prison. Both father and son have pleaded not guilty.
The case is the nation’s second criminal prosecution of a parent tied to an alleged school shooter. In Michigan, Jennifer and James Crumbley were convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the Oxford High School shooting case and were sentenced in April 2024 to 10 to 15 years in prison.
RELATED: Colin Gray not the first parent arrested after child accused of fatal shooting
Prosecutors contend Colin Gray bought the AR-style rifle used in the shooting and gave it to his son as a Christmas gift in December 2023, despite what they argue were warning signs. Authorities have said the FBI alerted police in May 2023 to online threats about a school shooting that were reportedly connected to Colt Gray. Investigators later contacted Colin Gray, who told officers there were firearms in the home that his son could access and that he was trying to teach him about gun safety, according to authorities.
Jury selection was held in Hall County, about 27 miles from Barrow County, and the trial will proceed in Barrow County using Hall County jurors. Fifteen jurors were seated — 12 regular jurors and three alternates — including a panel described as eight men and seven women. Chief Judge Nicholas Primm of the Piedmont Judicial Circuit, who is presiding, has said he expects the trial to run about three weeks.
In pretrial hearings, Primm also set limits on what can be recorded as evidence is shown in court. Prosecutors sought restrictions on recording autopsy photos, crime scene images showing victims’ bodies and the faces of juvenile witnesses, with the judge citing concerns about additional trauma for families and minors. The court is also expected to review school surveillance video privately before deciding whether media may record it.
After selecting the panel, jurors were told they will not be sequestered and were instructed to avoid news coverage and social media about the case. Primm urged them to keep their service private and focus only on the evidence presented in court.
PREVIOUS STORIES
- Apalachee HS shooting: Colin Gray trial begins Monday; media limits debated
- Apalachee High School shooting: Jury selection underway for Colin Gray
- Apalachee High School shooting: Mental eval still incomplete for Colt Gray
- Apalachee HS shooting: Judge weighing challenge to father’s indictment
- Apalachee HS shooting: Lawyers claim search of father’s home improper
- Apalachee High shooting: Judge rules on Colin Gray venue change request
- Judge: Local jury ‘risky’ for accused Apalachee shooter’s father’s trial
