In Unusual Action, Georgia Arrests Father of Teen Suspected in School Shooting

By Rich McKay

Georgia state officials announced the arrest of the father of a 14-year-old suspected in a school shooting that resulted in four fatalities and left nine others injured. The authorities claim that the father knowingly permitted his son access to the weapon used in the crime.

Colin Gray, 54, faces multiple charges, including four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Chris Hosey, the agency’s director, explained during a press conference that these charges are based on Mr. Gray’s allowance for his son, Colt, to possess a firearm.

Colt Gray has been charged with four counts of felony murder and will be tried as an adult. His arraignment is scheduled for Friday morning, which will be conducted via video in Barrow County Superior Court.

Investigators have stated that Colt utilized a semiautomatic rifle during the attack, which tragically claimed the lives of two teachers and two students. The details regarding how the weapon came into Colt’s possession remain unclear, and the motivation behind this violent incident has not yet been disclosed.

The shooting took place at Apalachee High School in Winder, a small city located approximately 50 miles northeast of Atlanta. This incident has reignited discussions surrounding gun control and the emotional aftermath of frequent school shootings in the U.S. The victims have been identified as 14-year-old students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, along with teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53. Among the injured are two teachers and seven students, with many having already been discharged from the hospital. Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith expressed relief that all nine injured individuals are expected to make a full recovery.

The charges against the father mark a potential shift in strategy in addressing the recurring issue of school shootings in America. In a similar case from April, the parents of a Michigan teenager were sentenced to prison after their son fatally shot four classmates, marking a significant move towards holding parents legally accountable for their children’s actions in such tragedies.

Gun safety advocates view the Michigan case as an important step toward ensuring that parents of gun-owning households are held responsible for the violence perpetrated by their children. In this instance in Georgia, both Coltin and his father had previously been questioned regarding online threats related to a possible school shooting made via a social media platform. They denied making any threats and claimed that hunting guns in their home were secured and inaccessible to the boy. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department closed their investigation after finding no concrete evidence linking the Grays to the threats.

This most recent shooting incident is the first planned school attack of the current academic year, as students across the nation are returning to class. The U.S. has faced a troubling number of shootings in schools over the past twenty years, intensifying debates regarding gun control and the constitutional right to bear arms.