Lawyers for the 14-year-old suspect in a Georgia high school shooting that killed four people and his father, arrested for allowing his son access to a weapon, decided not to seek bail, keeping them both in custody.
Authorities charged Colt Gray with four counts of murder, accusing him of using a semiautomatic rifle to kill two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder. Prosecutors also charged his father, Colin Gray, for permitting his son to have the weapon.
AP News reports that the pair appeared in separate hearings Friday morning, with about 50 people, including victims’ families, media, and deputies, in attendance.
Both father and son had public defenders and did not enter pleas or request bond. Their preliminary hearings are set for December 4, The New York Times reports.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, police charged Colt Gray as an adult in the deaths of Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53. Nine others were injured during Wednesday’s attack.
Colt Gray surrendered to school resource officers and was taken into custody, according to law enforcement officials. Investigators found evidence of his interest in mass shootings, including the 2018 Parkland, Florida, high school attack, two officials familiar with the case reported.
According to a sheriff’s report released Thursday, Colt Gray denied planning a school shooting when questioned last year about a threatening social media post. Conflicting evidence about the post’s source prevented authorities from making an arrest. Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum reviewed the May 2023 report and concluded there was no basis for charges at that time.
The teen’s maternal grandfather, Charlie Polhamus, said he believes his grandson is responsible but also pointed to the challenges in his life, including his father’s separation from his wife.
“My grandson did what he did because of the environment that he lived in,” Polhamus said.
NBC 15 reports that the teen’s mother, Marcee Ann Gray, 43, has a lengthy criminal history that spans across numerous Georgia counties, including “Barrow, Fulton, Forsyth and Ben Hill.”
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[Feature Photo: Colt Gray, charged as an adult with four counts of murder, sits in the Barrow County courthouse during his first appearance for the Wednesday shooting at Apalachee High School, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, Pool)]
