Father of Apalachee High School shooter sentenced to 15 years in prison

Colin Gray, 55, was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison after a Georgia judge found him criminally responsible for enabling a mass shooting he did not commit. Judge Nicholas Primm handed down the sentence in connection with the December 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School outside Atlanta that killed four people: students Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn, both 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, according to BBC World.

Gray's conviction and sentence mark a rare instance of parental criminal liability for a mass shooting committed by a child. The case is only the third time in U.S. history that a parent has faced criminal prosecution for such an act, according to CBS News reporting.

Gray was convicted in March on 27 charges, including second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and cruelty to children, per CBS News. He purchased an AR-style rifle as a gift for his son Colt Gray during Christmas of 2023, seven months after Colt had been questioned by police about online threats to commit a school shooting. Colt Gray, now 16, pleaded guilty last week to the four murders and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to 55 charges, according to BBC World.

The case rests on what prosecutors characterized as a pattern of ignored warning signs. Prosecutors alleged that Colin Gray discovered a notebook in which Colt detailed plans to kill students and teachers but took no action to secure the weapon or pursue mental health intervention. Assistant District Attorney Patricia Brooks told jurors during trial that Gray saw "sign after sign of his son's deteriorating mental state, his violence, his school-shooter obsession," and "instead of disarming him, he gave him the detonator," per BBC World.

Judge Primm stated from the bench that Gray "failed as a parent" for not seeking counseling for his son, failing to monitor his online activity, and failing to lock up firearms in the home, according to BBC World. The judge also noted that Gray never called his son after his daughter texted him that three people had been killed at the high school during the attack, per CBS News.

The defense contested the charge of parental negligence as sufficient grounds for criminal liability. Gray's attorney Jimmy Barry argued that the culpability belonged exclusively to Colt Gray, who "made a conscious decision to do this," per BBC World. Defense counsel also presented evidence that Colin Gray had attempted to seek mental health treatment for his son and pointed to evidence showing Colt's documented hostility toward his father. Defense attorneys proposed a sentence of 20 years with 10 years to serve, far below prosecutors' request for the maximum 80 years. Judge Primm imposed the sentences concurrently, meaning they overlap rather than add together, per CBS News.

Victim family members provided impact statements at sentencing. Shayna Aspinwall, wife of teacher Richard Aspinwall, told the court she now lives with post-traumatic stress disorder and can no longer teach because of fear of another school shooting. Breanna Schermerhorn, mother of 14-year-old Mason, stated: "People keep calling us a tragedy. But tragedies are unavoidable. This was preventable," per CBS News. Alana Schermerhorn, Mason's older sister, added: "Parents are supposed to protect their children. Mr. Gray had opportunities to make different choices. My family didn't have an opportunity," according to CBS News.

Gray had been held in custody for 22 months at the time of sentencing, per CBS News.