Parent On Trial For Son’s Rampage

A Georgia father who bought his son an AR-15-style rifle despite police warnings is now behind bars for the massacre that weapon made possible.

Story Snapshot

A Barrow County jury convicted Colin Gray on 27 counts in March 2026, including second-degree murder and cruelty to children.
Judge Nicholas Primm sentenced Gray to an aggregate 15 years in prison on July 30, 2026.
Prosecutors said Gray bought the rifle as a Christmas gift and let his son keep access despite police warnings.
Authorities had warned Gray in 2023 after his son searched “how to kill your dad” and threatened an elementary school.
The case marks one of the first times a parent has been convicted for a child’s school shooting.

Jury Convicts Father on All 27 Counts

A Barrow County jury found Colin Gray guilty on all 27 counts in March 2026, reaching its verdict in under two hours. The charges included second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, cruelty to children, and reckless conduct, all tied to the September 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School carried out by his son, Colt Gray.

Prosecutors argued Gray bought the AR-15-style rifle as a Christmas gift for his son and then let him keep access to it, even after law enforcement had already flagged the teen as a danger. That decision, prosecutors said, directly enabled the attack that killed two students and two teachers.

Warnings Ignored Before the Tragedy

Reporting shows police visited the Gray household after a 2023 investigation into a threat against an elementary school. Investigators also found the teen had searched online for “how to kill your dad.” Officers warned Gray to keep guns away from his son, a warning prosecutors say he did not follow.

Prosecutors also pointed to a shrine in the teen’s room honoring the 2018 Parkland school shooting, along with a documented decline in his mental health. That history became central to the state’s argument that Gray knew, or should have known, the danger he created by giving his son a rifle.

Judge Delivers a Blunt Sentence

Judge Nicholas Primm handed down the sentence on July 30, 2026, telling Gray directly that his actions were bound to his son’s crime. “Mr. Gray committed crimes, but his crimes are tethered to the tragedy committed by his son,” Primm said, according to the Washington Post.

Court broadcasts captured the judge walking through each count. “For each of the murders in the second degree, I’m sentencing you to 15 years,” Primm said, before confirming the total came to an aggregate 15-year prison term.

Breanna Schermerhorn, the mother of Apalachee High School shooting victim Mason Schermerhorn, delivered an emotional victim impact statement during the sentencing hearing of the shooter's father, Colin Gray, on Thursday. Schermerhorn said the incident that killed her 14-year-old… pic.twitter.com/xVqJpPYPoN

— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 30, 2026

The sentence lands just two days after Colt Gray, now 16, was sentenced to life without parole for the same 2024 shooting. Together, the back-to-back rulings closed out a case that tested how far the law can reach when a parent hands a dangerous weapon to a child already flagged as a threat.