Georgia school shooting: Colt Gray appeared in court as more charges planned against suspect, DA says
Apalachee High School shooting suspect and his father Colin Gray both appeared in a Georgia courthouse this morning
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Georgia school mass shooting suspect Colt Gray and his father Colin Gray faced a judge Friday at the Barrow County Courthouse in Georgia for their arraignment.
Judge Currie Mingledorff II told the Apalachee High School shooting suspect that he could face life in prison if convicted on any of the four felony murder counts held against him. The 14-year-old is being tried as an adult, however, the judge ruled out the possibility of a death sentence due to being younger than 18.
Colin Gray, 54, who faced Judge Mingledorff in the same courtroom about 45 minutes after his son, was told he could be sentenced up to 180 years in prison. The dad faces four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Colt Gray is accused of opening fire on staff and students at Apalachee High School in Winder with an AR-style rifle, resulting in the deaths of two 14-year-old pupils and two teachers on Wednesday.
His father allegedly bought the semi-automatic weapon for his son as a Christmas present.
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Inside the ‘hostile,’ gun-obsessed homelife of Georgia shooting suspect Colt Gray
As a Georgia high school reels from the mass shooting that left two students and two teachers dead, details have emerged that paint a picture of the “hostile” and gun “obsessed” homelife of suspected shooter, Colt Gray.
The 14-year-old has been charged in the deaths of students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53 in Wednesday’s shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder. And now, so has his father, Colin Gray.
Rhian Lubin and Justin Rohrlich have more.
Inside the ‘hostile’ homelife of Georgia shooting suspect Colt Gray
Colt Gray has been charged with the murders of students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo and teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder
ICYMI: Judge reveals potential sentencing for shooting suspect Colt Gray and dad Colin
Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray and his father Colin Gray were arraigned on Friday morning as they both faced murder charges.
Judge Currie Mingledorff II told the 14-year-old alleged gunman that he could face life in prison if convicted on any of the four felony murder counts held against him.
The judge has ruled out the possibility of Colt Gray receiving a death sentence because he’s under the age of 18.
Judge Currie Mingledorff II read out the maximum sentencing for each of the charges filed against Colin Gray, father of the suspected Georgia school shooter. He allegedly bought Colt Gray an AR-style rifle for Christmas.
He faces up to 30 years in prison for each of the two charges of felony second-degree murder, 10 years in jail for each of the four counts of felony involuntary manslaughter and 10 years for each of the eight counts of felony cruelty to children in the second degree.
A maximum total possible penalty is 180 years imprisonment, the Mingledorff said. Colin Gray was visibly distressed, rocking back and forth during the arraignment.
Both Colt Gray and and his father were told that they had the right to a “speedy and public trial by judge or jury”. Neither requested a bond and no pleas were entered.
They will both remain in custody and are next due in court on December 4.
Colt Gray to face ‘additional charges,’ DA says
Georgia shooting suspect Colt Gray will face “additional charges,” Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith said on Friday.
The upcoming charges will be filed after investigators speak with victims that sustained injuries after Gray allegedly opened fire on Apalachee High School pupils and teachers using an AR-style rifle on Wednesday - which killed four and injured nine.
“There will be additional charges on Colt Gray. When he was taken into custody on Wednesday, we did not have the identities or the conditions of the other victims. So we were not able to charge on those offenses,” Smith said, as first reported by CNN.
“So when evidence comes in, and they’ve had a chance to heal physically, emotionally and spiritually, we will get with them, and there will be additional charges that address the other victims.”
Here’s why suspect's dad Colin Gray faces two murder counts when there were four deaths
Among Colin Gray’s slew of charges are two counts of felony murder in the second degree. There were, however, four deaths after Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray allegedly opened fire on the Winder, Georgia, school on Wednesday.
The 54-year-old gave his son a firearm “with knowledge he was a threat to himself and others,” according to his arrest warrant.
Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith explained why.
“Second-degree murder is different in Georgia than in other states. It’s a rather new charge, and it is specifically geared towards cruelty to children in the second degree,” he told CNN.
“If you commit cruelty to children in the second degree that causes death, that is second-degree murder.”
Both son and father to remain in jail
Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray and his father Colin Gray were arraigned on Friday.
They both faced murder charges.
Neither attorney requested bail during the hearing.
So both father and son will remain in jail.
JD Vance skirts around question about holding parents accountable in school shootings
‘Seeing blood everywhere’
Ariel Bowling, who is in the 10th grade at Apalachee High School, was about to walk to the vending machine when the shooting began.
“We ran back inside, and we closed the door, and we all ran to the corner,” Bowling told 11Alive. “And that’s whenever I called my mom, and I told her that, hey, this isn’t a drill. There’s an active shooter.”
She said she could see “blood everywhere.”
Bowling is OK, but says she knew some of the victims, some who survived and some who did not.
Some Georgia schools remain closed due to threats
The Franklin County School System closed all its schools onFriday due to receiving threats on Thursday, WSBTV reported.
A teenager was arrested for making several threats against schools in the area, according to the Gainesville Police Department and another teen was arrested Thursday afternoon for threatening to “finish the job” at Apalachee High School.
The teens have not been identified.
School officials said they are working closely with local law enforcement and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Mother of Apalachee shooting victim says he ‘didn’t deserve to die like this’
Christian Angulo’s mother told Univision that her son didn’t deserve to die like this.
“He was only 14 years old; they took his whole life, his future and his time with us,” Emma Angulo said.
“He didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve to die like this. I miss him. For me, this is like … I wish it was a dream.”
She recalled the last hug they had.
“He gave his father and me a hug; I will always carry that in my heart,” she said.
The family moved to Georgia from California 10 years ago for safer schools.
“In California, the schools were supposedly bad, and here we find the same situation,” she said.
“It hurts a lot. It feels like they killed me and my family.”
WATCH: Suspected school shooter Colt Gray appears in court
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