The 14-year-old suspected of killing four people in a shooting at a Georgia high school will remain in custody, like his fatherafter back-to-back hearings Friday morning in which attorneys for the father and son declined to ask for their release on bail.
At teenager Colt Gray’s hearing, he was read his rights along with the charges and punishments he faces for the shooting at his high school.
After the hearing, he was escorted out of the courtroom in shackles on his wrists and ankles, wearing khaki pants and a green shirt. The judge called Colt Gray back into the courtroom to correct an earlier misstatement that his crimes could be punishable by death.
Because he is a minor, the maximum sentence he faces is life in prison without parole. The judge also scheduled a new hearing for December 4.
Shortly afterward, his father, Colin Gray, was arraigned in court. The 54-year-old was charged Thursday in connection with the shooting for allowing his son to possess a gun. Nine people were injured in Wednesday’s attack at Apalachee High School in Winder, outside Atlanta.
Colin Gray, who was wearing a gray-striped jail uniform at Friday’s hearing, answered questions in a hoarse, barely audible voice, citing his age and saying he had completed 11th grade and earned a high school equivalency diploma.
About 50 people were in the courtroom for the hearings, along with members of the media and county police officers. Some of the victims’ relatives in the front row hugged each other, and one woman clutched a stuffed animal.
Before hearings in the Barrow County courtroom, workers placed boxes of disposable tissues on benches in the courtroom.
According to arrest warrants obtained by AP, Colt Gray is accused of using “a black AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle” to kill two students and two teachers at the school. Authorities have not provided a motive or explained how he obtained the weapon or brought it into the high school.
Colin Gray has been charged with second-degree manslaughter and second-degree murder in connection with the shooting, said Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
“Your charges are directly related to your son’s actions and allowing him to possess a weapon,” Hosey said.
This is the latest example of prosecutors holding parents accountable for their children’s actions in school shootings. In April, Jennifer and James Crumbley became the first parents to be convicted in connection with a mass shooting at a school.
They were sentenced to at least 10 years in prison for failing to safely store a firearm in their home and showing indifference to signs of their son’s deteriorating mental health before he killed four students in 2001.
The Georgia shooting also renewed debate over safe gun storage laws and has parents wondering how to talk to their children about school shootings and trauma.
The morning hearings for the father and son came as police in the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody said in a statement that schools in the area and across the country have received threats of violence following the shooting at Apalachee High School.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation also noted that numerous threats have been made to schools across the state this week.
Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channels YouTube, WhatsApp and the newsletter. Activate notifications and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Add Comment