Colin Gray, 56, has been sentenced on charges including second-degree murder, following a jury's finding of criminal culpability in a mass shooting his teenage son carried out at Apalachee High School in September 2024. The attack resulted in the deaths of two students and two teachers.
Gray admitted to providing the assault rifle that his then-14-year-old son used in the shooting. He faced more than 100 years in prison after being found guilty of 27 counts, including second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, cruelty to children, and reckless conduct. The jury delivered its guilty verdicts in March after deliberating for less than two hours.
This case marks another instance in the U.S. where a parent has been charged and convicted in connection with a mass shooting perpetrated by their child. During his two-week trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Colin Gray had been warned about his son's fascination with mass shooters. Evidence also indicated he was aware the teen maintained a shrine in his bedroom dedicated to the perpetrator of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Prosecutors stated that instead of seeking psychological help for his son, Colin Gray gifted the boy an AR-15-style rifle as a Christmas present. This weapon was ultimately used in the Apalachee High School shooting.
Colin Gray testified in his own defense, expressing his daily struggle and disbelief that his son could commit such an act. "He's a good kid, you know? He wasn't perfect, but to do something, uh, that heinous, like I don't, I don't know if anybody would see that type of evil," Gray testified.
He confirmed giving his son the rifle, telling jurors it came with conditions: "This is a weapon that I want you to shoot when we go to the range, and if you keep doing really good in school, going to school and doing all the things you should, you graduate and you're 18, this will be your gun."
Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith stated that evidence showed "multiple warnings over a lengthy period of time." He added, "You just had to do one thing -- take that rifle away -- and this would have been prevented."
Several other parents have faced convictions in the U.S. in relation to mass shootings committed by their children. In 2024, Jennifer and James Crumbley were convicted of charges related to a mass shooting at a Michigan high school by their son, Ethan Crumbley. They were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter after prosecutors presented evidence of an unsecured firearm at their home and indifference to their son's mental health. They each received sentences of 10 to 15 years. Their son pleaded guilty to murdering four students and injuring several others and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
In 2023, Robert Crimo Jr. pleaded guilty to seven counts of misdemeanor reckless conduct in connection with a mass shooting during a 2022 Fourth of July Parade in Highland Park, Illinois, where his son killed seven people. Crimo Jr. was sentenced to 60 days in jail and two years of probation. His son pleaded guilty to multiple counts of murder and attempted murder and received a life sentence without parole.
In an ongoing case, the father of a 15-year-old girl accused of a 2024 shooting at a Wisconsin school that killed a student and teacher faces charges for allegedly allowing his daughter access to the firearms used. Jeffrey Rupnow was charged with giving a dangerous weapon to a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. His trial is scheduled for next year.