The father of Georgia school shooter Colt Gray sobbed and rocked back and forth during his first appearance at Barrow County Superior Court on Friday.
Colin Gray’s hearing took place right after his 14-year-old son Colt learned that, as a minor, he won’t face the death penalty for killing four people at Apalachee High School in Winder, outside Atlanta, on Wednesday.
The teen appeared in person in shackles, dressed in a green t-shirt and grey sweat pants. He kept his head down, with his hair covering his face, and spoke softly only to Judge Currie Mingledorff, replying ‘yes sir’ when asked to confirm his name.
Meanwhile his father, Colin Gray, 54, cried as he appeared shortly after his son in the same courtroom, charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two of second degree murder and eight of cruelty to children.
Colin Gray shuffled in wearing a prison-issued striped shirt and tracksuit, in shackles like his son. He stated his name in a croaky voice, confirming his age, and that he was able to read and write.
Georgia school shooter Colt Gray made his first court appearance on Friday
Colin Gray, 54, appeared shortly after his son in the same courtroom, charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two of second degree murder and eight of cruelty to children
He told the court he completed education up until 11th Grade GED, nodding along to proceedings as they took place.
The distraught father began rocking after Judge Mingledorff told him the maximum sentences that he could receive, and is expected to appear in court on December 4.
Victims’ family members stared at him throughout the hearing while he kept his head down and avoided eye contact with anyone but the judge.
Dozens of emotional family members packed the courtroom for both Grays first appearances, with some visibly crying before the hearing even began. Some wore sunglasses to cover their faces, and were supported by detectives in the court room.
Family members for both father and son did not appear to be supporting them in the courtroom.
Judge Mingledorff advised the elder Gray that he could face up to 30 years in prison for each felony murder count, 10 years for each involuntary manslaughter charges and cruelty to children – the maximum totaling 180 years.
Gray was arrested on Wednesday at Apalachee High School in Winder, minutes after authorities say he opened fire on students and teachers, killing four. Colt reportedly told police ‘I did it’ when read his Miranda rights
His father, 54-year-old Colin Gray, is accused of buying his 14-year-old son Colt the AR-15-style rifle the boy used and was arrested Thursday on several counts of second degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children
Colt Gray’s attorney did not request bond for the teenager.
The teen looked down at his feet as he entered the court, staring straight at the judge as he spoke during the short 8-minute hearing.
Judge Mingledorff brought Gray back in to correct a statement he made, telling him: ‘I wanted to make it clear to you that the penalty does not include death. It includes life without the possibility of parole or with the possibility of parole.’
A 2005 Supreme Court decision forbids the execution of offenders who were under the age of 18 when their crimes were committed.
The teen’s father was charged Thursday in connection with the shooting, including with counts of involuntary manslaughter and second-degree murder, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey.
‘His charges are directly connected with the actions of his son and allowing him to possess a weapon,’ Hosey said.
Colin Gray told police this week he purchased the weapon used in the killings as Christmas present for his son last December, according to authorities.
Marcee, 43, has a record across four Georgia counties and includes drug use, domestic violence and property damage, as well as civil claims of fraud
Colt Gray was arrested on Wednesday minutes after authorities say he opened fire on students and teachers, killing four. Colt reportedly told police ‘I did it’ when read his Miranda rights.
Public records show that Gray’s mother, Marcee Gray, has a criminal record dating back to 2007 and spent time in jail as recently as this past April and was banned from contacting father Colin without a third party intermediary.
Marcee, 43, has a record across four Georgia counties and includes drug use, domestic violence and property damage, as well as civil claims of fraud.
The family home was raided on Wednesday afternoon, with FBI investigators seizing firearms and evidence.
Neighbors saw Colin return to the family home on Wednesday evening, though it is unclear if he handed himself into authorities.
A neighbor told DailyMail.com that they were ‘terrified’ following the new charges, adding that the family had ‘kept themselves to themselves’ and not integrated with the community in their two years at the property.
The teen denied threatening to carry out a school shooting when authorities interviewed him last year about a menacing post on social media, according to a sheriff’s report obtained Thursday.
Conflicting evidence on the post’s origin left investigators unable to arrest anyone, the report said. Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum said she reviewed the report from May 2023 and found nothing that would have justified bringing charges at the time.
Teacher Richard Aspinwall was named as one of the four victims of the shooting. Christina Irimie was also identified as a victim
Mason Schermerhorn, 14, an autistic student at Apalachee High School, was the first victim to be identified. Christian Angulo, 14, also lost his life in the senseless shooting
The teen was interviewed after the sheriff received a tip from the FBI that Gray, then 13, ‘had possibly threatened to shoot up a middle school tomorrow.’ The threat was made on Discord, a social media platform popular with video gamers, according to the sheriff’s office incident report.
The FBI’s tip pointed to a Discord account associated with an email address linked to Colt Gray, the report said. But the boy said ‘he would never say such a thing, even in a joking manner,’ according to the investigator’s report.
The interview transcript quotes the teen as saying: ‘I promise I would never say something where …’ with the rest of that denial listed as inaudible.
The investigator wrote that no arrests were made because of ‘inconsistent information’ on the Discord account, which had profile information in Russian and a digital evidence trail indicating it had been accessed in different Georgia cities as well as Buffalo, New York.
Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum said she reviewed the report from May 2023 and found nothing that would have justified bringing charges at the time.
‘We did not drop the ball at all on this,’ Mangum told The Associated Press in an interview. ‘We did all we could do with what we had at the time.’
The Discord account had a user name written in Russian, and the translation of the letters spelled out the name Lanza, referencing Adam Lanza, the perpetrator of the Sandy Hook Elementary school tragedy, officers said.
Gray denied he was the author of the threats, telling police he’d shut down his Discord after being repeatedly hacked. He expressed concerns that someone would make those accusations about him.
‘He knows the seriousness of weapons and what they can do, and how to use them and not use them,’ the father, Colin Gray, said according to a transcript obtained from the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s investigators closed the case after being unable to substantiate that either Gray was connected to the Discord account, and did not find grounds to seek the needed court order to confiscate the family’s guns, according to police reports released by the sheriff’s office on Thursday.
The boy reportedly had an obsession with other infamous school shooters such as Parkland, Florida killer Nikolas Cruz.