Colt Gray sentenced to life without parole for Apalachee High School shooting

A 16-year-old who killed four people at his Georgia high school will spend the rest of his life in prison. Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm sentenced Colt Gray to life without parole on July 28, 2026, after Gray pleaded guilty to all 55 counts against him, including four counts of malice murder.

Gray was 14 years old on September 4, 2024, when he opened fire at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. The shooting killed two students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo (both 14), and two teachers, Richard Aspinwall (39) and Cristina Irimie (53), per NBC News reporting. Another teacher and eight students were wounded; seven of them were hit by gunfire, according to NBC News.

Gray obtained the assault-style rifle he used as a Christmas gift from his father, Colin Gray, who bought it to bond with his son, per NBC News. Gray's father was convicted in March on charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for providing the weapon. Gray's grandmother testified that dozens of guns were kept in the house and not all of them were locked up.

Investigators found that Gray had become obsessed with mass shooters, particularly Nikolas Cruz, who carried out the 2018 shooting at a Florida high school. Per NBC News, the Barrow County District Attorney's Office Investigator Ashley Gilleland testified that Gray had more than 2,000 photos of Cruz saved on his phone and photos of Cruz printed and posted on his bedroom wall. Gray also became obsessed with the gunmen responsible for the 1989 Columbine High School shooting in Colorado and the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Connecticut. Investigators recovered notebooks and Discord messages documenting this fascination, according to CBS News reporting.

In jail call recordings from October and November 2024, Gray expressed pride in being compared to other mass killers. Per NBC News, in one call Gray said "I'm in the big leagues, bro." In another recorded call to his mother, according to CBS News, Gray said "Can you believe it, Mom? I took over Thomas Crooks in popularity. Take that," referring to the gunman who attempted to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Gray's defense presented evidence of trauma and mental illness. Forensic psychologist Kevin Richards testified that Gray grew up amid financial instability, parental conflict, and repeated upheaval. Richards described Gray as a "lonely, dysfunctional kid" whose parents abused drugs and whose family moved frequently, per NBC News. Richards testified Gray had been prescribed Zoloft, was diagnosed with an unspecified personality disorder, and exhibited symptoms of anxiety, depression, and paranoia. Gray had been scheduled to see a doctor for medication, telling investigators "I was so close to getting the help I need and the medication I need," per NBC News. However, under cross-examination, Richards acknowledged Gray exaggerated some mental health symptoms and found no evidence Gray suffered from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or met Georgia's legal standard for insanity, according to CBS News.

Yet prosecutors presented evidence of deliberate planning. Investigators found a notebook in which Gray detailed a step-by-step plan on how he would prepare in the bathroom before the shooting, per NBC News. Evidence included maps of the high school and writings describing how many people Gray expected to kill or injure, according to CBS News. Just before 10 a.m. on September 4, 2024, Gray told his second-period teacher he needed to see a crisis counselor but instead went to a bathroom to prepare. When unable to re-enter his classroom, he marched down the hall to another classroom and opened fire on people in that room and in the hallway, per NBC News. Gray then surrendered to law enforcement.

In his initial interview with investigators, Gray sobbed and repeatedly apologized, calling his actions "horrible" and "the worst nightmare for everyone involved," according to NBC News. But prosecutors argued Gray had staged "Easter eggs" and references to other shooters in anticipation of his trial to sustain his fame. District Attorney Brad Smith told the judge: "This is not someone in some sort of uncontrollable emotional breakdown. He is still calculating up to the second of the shooting," per CBS News. Smith called for Gray to spend the rest of his life in jail, comparing him to a shark and stating "Colt Gray cannot be in society."

Judge Primm acknowledged systemic failures in his sentencing statement. According to CBS News, Primm said Gray "were failed by each of your parents, you were failed by your extended family, to a certain extent you were failed by a society that can't stop propagating this misguided value in online cultures and social media." But Primm also addressed Gray's deliberate choice for infamy. Per CBS News, the judge quoted Gray's own writing: "I want to make history. I want people to remember the pain I caused," and said "there you succeeded. The pain that you visited upon this community is unlikely to disappear in my lifetime." Primm told Gray: "You do not seem to be tormented by what you did, you seem to relish following in the footsteps of the murderers you idolize. You aren't wracked with guilt. You're proud of yourself."

Because Gray was 14 at the time of the shooting, Georgia law prohibited prosecutors from seeking the death penalty. Under Georgia law, Gray's sentencing options ranged from life with the possibility of parole to life without parole, per CBS News. Primm said that while the Supreme Court considered life-without-parole sentences for youth only on the rarest occasions, this case fit those parameters.

The three-day sentencing hearing included testimony from survivors, victims' families, investigators, and mental health experts. Shayna Aspinwall, widow of teacher Richard Aspinwall, told the court: "It is a life sentence of grief and trauma for those left behind," per NBC News. She said their daughters were 2 and 5 when their father was killed and their lives will be "forever marked by his absence." Breanna Schermerhorn, mother of student victim Mason Schermerhorn, acknowledged that while Gray may have been failed by adults in his life, "Those decisions were his and his alone," per NBC News. Mason Schermerhorn's family described him as a caring teenager who "was so much more than a victim," and his sisters told the court they continue to struggle with anxiety, panic attacks, and the emotional weight of returning to schools and public places, according to CBS News.

Gray declined to address the court at his sentencing hearing. He was taken away by officers after the judge informed him of his rights to appeal the charges, per CBS News.