Colt Gray has pleaded guilty in the Georgia school shooting case tied to the deadly attack at Apalachee High School, a move that brings the case against the teenager closer to sentencing and ends the prospect of a trial. Gray admitted guilt in the September 2024 shooting that killed four people and left a community in Georgia still grappling with the loss.
Gray, now sixteen, had been charged as an adult with malice murder, weapons violations and cruelty to children. He was fourteen at the time of the shooting. By entering a non-negotiated plea agreement, he gave up a jury trial and the chance to appeal. During the hearing, he told Judge Nicholas Primm that he understood the consequences, including the likelihood of a life sentence without the possibility of parole. He also told the court he has mental health issues and takes medication for them.
The victims were two students and two teachers: Breanna Schermerhorn’s son Mason, fourteen; Christian Angulo, fourteen; Richard Aspinwall, thirty-nine; and Cristina Irimie, fifty-three. Schermerhorn delivered a painful victim impact statement, saying she wakes each day to the reality that her son is gone and telling Gray, “I do not forgive, Mr Gray.” She said the shooting took away every milestone her family had expected to share with Mason.
Other families also addressed the court. One relative said the future planned with the victim no longer exists and asked that the killer not be given parole. Ismael Angulo, Christian’s brother, said the attack “shattered thousands of lives in a single instant.” He added that while the law spares Gray the ultimate penalty because of his age, the court does not have to give him freedom in the future.
