A Georgia jury found the father of an alleged school shooter guilty of second-degree murder Tuesday.
The jury also found Colin Gray, 55, guilty of cruelty to children after his son Colt allegedly shot two classmates and two teachers on Sept. 4, 2024, at Apalachee High School using an AR-style rifle kept inside their home, according to NBC News. Prosecutors accused Gray of ignoring warning signs of possible violence in his son and allowing him access to the weapon.
Ahead of the 2024 shooting that killed four people, the teen’s mother pleaded for her son’s access to guns to be cut off, according to Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith. The teen’s mother cited the case of a 2021 shooting committed at Oxford High School in Detroit, where the perpetrator’s parents were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter as a result of their son’s crime.
Smith reacted to the jury’s decision, saying he hoped the conviction “moves the needle a little further.”
“I think you saw in this case that the mother actually reviewed what happened in Michigan … and she then, as a result of that, asked her husband to remove the weapons,” Smith told reporters.
“It could have ended this tragedy. So Michigan was able to move the needle to the point that almost stopped this tragedy,” he said. “How many tragedies it did stop? We hope we move the needle a little further,” he continued. (RELATED: Mayor’s Son Allegedly Spies On Her Having Sex With His Friend In Career-Ending Scandal)
Smith also said he “would have never given my 14-year-old child a firearm like that… I think most parents wouldn’t have done that,” FOX 5 Atlanta reported. Gray is responsible because he had custody of the teen and provided him the firearm, Smith explained.
After being charged with the 29 felony counts, Gray faces up to 180 years in prison. His sentencing has been deferred to a later date.
Gray was arrested on Sept. 5, 2024, in connection with the shooting, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) previously announced. Gray purchased the gun used in the shooting and gave it to his son as a Christmas gift in December 2023, law enforcement sources told CNN.
The teen’s mother, Marcee Gray, called the school minutes before the shooting to warn of an “extreme emergency” involving her son, the Washington Post reported, citing text messages and an interview with a family member.
Colt, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, remains in custody, according to NBC News. His trial date has not yet been set.