The father at the center of the Georgia school shooting case has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in the 2024 Apalachee High School attack. Colin Gray, 55, received the punishment on Thursday after a Georgia judge found him guilty in March on murder, manslaughter and related charges tied to the shooting in Winder, Georgia.
The case stems from an attack that killed four people and shook a community outside Atlanta. The victims were two teachers and two students: Christian Angulo, 14; Mason Schermerhorn, 14; Richard Aspinwall, 39; and Cristina Irimie, 53. Prosecutors said Gray was the one person who could have stopped the shooting before it happened, and investigators said the rifle used by his son was a gift from him.
Judge Nicholas Primm handed down the sentence after hearing arguments from both sides. He gave Gray 15 years for each second degree murder conviction and 10 years for each involuntary manslaughter conviction, with the terms to run at the same time. Georgia prosecutors had pushed for the maximum of 80 years, while the defense sought a 10-year sentence.
In court, Primm said Gray failed to take basic steps that might have prevented the attack. He said the father did not get his son into counseling, did not watch his online activity closely enough, and did not secure the guns in the home. The judge told Gray that he had failed as a parent, while also noting that he did not intend to hurt anyone and did not fire the weapon himself.
