A plea and sentencing hearing is scheduled for later this month for Colt Gray, 16, who is accused of fatally shooting four people at Apalachee High School in Georgia in September 2024. Gray had previously pleaded not guilty to charges including murder in the incident that wounded several others.
A judge has set the "Non-Negotiated Plea and Sentencing Hearing" to begin July 24. According to the court, Gray was required to notify the state and court by the preceding Wednesday if he intended to plead guilty before a trial. In a non-negotiated plea, the prosecution and defense do not reach an agreement on a sentence, leaving the final decision to the judge after both sides present their arguments and recommendations.
Colt Gray's attorney could not be immediately reached for comment. The trial had been scheduled to start in mid-October in Columbia County, approximately 100 miles from Barrow County, where the shooting occurred. This change of venue was granted at the defense's request.
Gray's father, Colin Gray, was convicted in March on charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors asserted that Colin Gray provided his son with the assault-style rifle used in the school shooting. Colin Gray is also awaiting sentencing later this month.
The Sept. 4, 2024, shooting claimed the lives of teachers Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, along with students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Another teacher and eight students sustained injuries, with seven being struck by gunfire.
At the time of the shooting, Colt Gray, then 14, was charged as an adult with 55 counts, including murder, cruelty to children, and 25 counts of aggravated assault. Investigators presented evidence that Colt Gray brought the rifle, given to him by his father, onto a school bus concealed within a poster board. Testimony indicated that the teenager left a second-period class, emerged from a bathroom with the rifle, and proceeded to shoot individuals in a classroom and hallway.
Investigators believe Colt Gray meticulously planned the assault at the school, which has an enrollment of 1,900 students. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent testified that the suspect left a notebook in his classroom detailing step-by-step instructions and a diagram for the attack, including estimates of potential fatalities and injuries.
Prior to the shooting, Colt and Colin Gray were questioned by sheriff's deputies regarding an online threat linked to Colt Gray in May 2023. Colt Gray denied making the threat at the time. He had skipped eighth grade, enrolled at Apalachee as a freshman after the academic year began, and subsequently missed multiple school days. Family members had reportedly sought psychological help for Colt Gray, but he did not appear to see a counselor. Colt's mother informed investigators that she had argued with Colin Gray weeks before the shooting, urging him to secure his firearms and limit his son's access. Records indicate that Colin Gray subsequently purchased ammunition, a gun sight, and other shooting accessories for his son. Prosecutors stated that Colt Gray had created a shrine in his bedroom dedicated to Nikolas Cruz, the perpetrator of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.