Colt Gray faces 55 counts, 180-year sentence
Colt Gray is scheduled to appear in Barrow County Superior Court on July 24 for a change-of-plea hearing followed by a sentencing hearing, according to court documents filed Friday. CBS News reported both hearings are set for the same day. The teenager previously pleaded not guilty to 55 counts stemming from the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta.
Prosecutors said Gray, who was 14 at the time, used a rifle his father had bought him for Christmas to kill two students and two teachers and injure nine other people.
The upcoming hearing is described in court filings as a “non-negotiated” plea, meaning Gray intends to change his original not-guilty plea without having reached an agreement with prosecutors on a recommended sentence. He faces up to 180 years in prison, according to reports. Gray has been charged as an adult.
The charges include four counts of malice and felony murder, as well as aggravated assault and numerous counts of first-degree cruelty to children, per FOX 5 Atlanta.
MSI previously reported that Gray’s father, Colin Gray, was convicted in March on charges of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and cruelty to children. A jury found Colin Gray guilty after prosecutors argued he ignored warning signs and provided his son access to the firearm used in the attack. He was the first adult charged in Georgia in connection with a school shooting.