The father of a 14-year-old boy accused of carrying out a mass shooting at a Georgia high school has pleaded not guilty to a series of charges.
Colin Gray did not appear in court in Georgia on Thursday, however his attorneys entered guilty pleas on his behalf and moved to waive an indictment.
The 54-year-old father was indicted on 29 charges last month, including second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, cruelty to children and reckless conduct.
Each charge is related to his son’s horrific Sept. 4 attack at Appalache High School, where he allegedly opened fire on students and staff, killing four.
Prosecutors have tried to portray Gray, who is being tried separately from his son, as a negligent father who knowingly ignored his teenage son’s deteriorating mental health and his budding obsession with school shootings.
Colin is accused of allowing his son access to the high-powered AR rifle used in the attack, even though he had “knowledge that he was a threat to himself and others.”
Witnesses in the case also testified that the father purchased a laser sight, a tactical vest and ammunition for his son before the fatal shooting.
At a preliminary hearing for the “neglectful” parent, an investigator testified that Colt had placed a “shrine” in his bedroom from previous school shootings, including a photo of Nikolas Cruz, the gunman in the 2018 shooting at a high school in Parkland. , Florida.
Colin Gray, 54, the father of a 14-year-old boy accused of carrying out a mass shooting at a Georgia high school, pleaded not guilty to all 29 charges against him.
Colin Gray did not appear in court in Georgia on Thursday, however his attorneys told the judge during the brief, nearly five-minute hearing that their client pleaded not guilty and proceeded to waive an indictment.
The charges come nearly two months after Gray’s 14-year-old son Colt Gray (pictured) allegedly opened fire at his 1,900-student high school, killing two of his classmates and two teachers.
Prosecutors have also drawn attention to the fact that Colin Gray did not call the high school the morning of the shooting, even after receiving disturbing text messages from his son.
The charges come nearly two months after Gray’s son, Colt Gray, 14, allegedly opened fire at his 1,900-student high school, killing two of his classmates, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both of 14 years old, already two teachers, Richard Aspinwall. , 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53.
Another teacher and eight more students were injured in the raid, seven of them from gunshots.
That fateful morning, the teen allegedly hid the long-barreled gun inside a piece of cardboard carefully stored in his backpack while aboard a school bus, an agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.
Later, Colt Gray left his second period classroom and headed to the bathroom with his backpack. The teenager then left the bathroom wearing gloves and sat with the cardboard in front of him, in an attempt to hide the murder weapon, security footage revealed.
He then approached the door to his math class to go back in, but a student who went to open it realized what was happening, backed away and told the teacher.
Then, the teacher went to the door window, told her students to crouch in a corner of the classroom and began a lockdown, the GBI agent detailed.
Colt Gray then entered another classroom and began firing his gun, hitting six or seven people in the span of about seven seconds.
That fateful morning, the teen allegedly hid the long-barreled gun inside a piece of cardboard carefully stored in his backpack while aboard a school bus, an agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. Pictured: Police tape surrounds the perimeter of Apalachee High School on September 5, 2024 in Winder, Georgia.
Students Mason Schermerhorn, 14 (top left), Christian Angulo, 14 (top right), and teachers Richard Aspinwall (bottom right) and Christina Irimie (bottom left) died in the shooting.
Last month, the disgraced teenager pleaded not guilty in writing to all charges and faces life in prison if convicted. Pictured: Colt Gray, 14, appears in court on September 6.
The shooter then returned to the bathroom around 10:22 a.m. before firing multiple shots at a teacher, the GBI agent added.
He then turned around and shot two coaches, before shooting a student coming out of the bathroom, killing them.
After that, two school resource officers approached the armed teen and ordered him to put his weapon down.
According to the GBI agent, the teenager left a notebook behind when he went out to the bathroom. The notebook contained a detailed plan of how he was going to carry out the horrible crime, along with an estimate of how many people would die and drawings of his classroom.
Colt Gray was subsequently arrested and charged the day after the fatal shooting and has since been held without bond at the Barrow County Detention Center.
Last month, the disgraced teenager pleaded not guilty to all charges and faces life in prison if convicted.
This grueling case marks the first time a parent of an alleged school shooter has been charged with murder.
The 54-year-old father’s accusation is one of the latest examples of parents being held responsible for their children’s actions in school shootings.
In 2021, the parents of Oxford, Michigan student Ethan Crumbley, who killed four students and injured seven others, were the first to be convicted in a mass shooting at a US school.
The couple, Jennifer and Jason Crumbley, were sentenced to at least 10 years in prison for not having a firearm at home and for “acting indifference” to signs of their son’s deteriorating mental health before their brutal murders. .