Georgia teen charged in Apalachee High School shooting to appear in
court for plea and sentencing
[July 13, 2026]
By KATE BRUMBACK
ATLANTA (AP) — A judge has set a plea and sentencing hearing later this
month for a teenager accused of killing four people in a September 2024
shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia.
Colt Gray, 16, had pleaded not guilty to charges including murder in the
shooting that killed two students and two teachers, and left several
others wounded, at the high school northeast of Atlanta.
In a court filing Friday, the judge overseeing his case set a
“Non-Negotiated Plea and Sentencing Hearing” to begin July 24. The judge
had previously said that if Gray wanted to plead guilty ahead of trial,
he must notify the state and court by this coming Wednesday.
A non-negotiated plea means that the state and the defense have not
reached an agreement on a sentence. Unlike a negotiated plea, or plea
deal, where a defendant reaches an agreement with prosecutors to plead
guilty in exchange for an agreed upon sentence and possibly reduced
charges, this leaves sentencing entirely up to the judge who makes a
decision after giving each side a chance to present a summary of the
case and a sentencing recommendation.
Colt Gray's attorney did not immediately respond to an email seeking
comment Sunday.
Gray's trial had been set to begin in mid-October in Columbia County,
about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Barrow County where the shooting
happened, after the judge agreed to a defense request to change the
venue.
Gray's father, Colin Gray, was convicted by a jury in March on charges
including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter after
prosecutors said he gave his teenage son the assault-style rifle used to
open fire at the school. The elder Gray is set to be sentenced later
this month.
The Sept. 4, 2024, shooting killed teachers Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall,
39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and
Christian Angulo, both 14. Another teacher and eight more students were
wounded, seven of them hit by gunfire. Colt Gray, who was 14 at the time
of the shooting, was charged as an adult with 55 total counts, including
murder, cruelty to children and 25 counts of aggravated assault.
[to top of second column]
|
School shooting suspect Colt Gray exits the Barrow County
Courthouse, Dec. 9, 2025, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart,
Pool, file)
Investigators testified that Colt Gray carried the rifle given to
him by his father onto the school bus with the barrel wrapped in a
poster board. They said the teenager left his second-period class
and emerged from a bathroom with the rifle, shooting people in a
classroom and hallway.
Investigators have said the teenager carefully plotted the shooting
at the high school of 1,900 students. A Georgia Bureau of
Investigation agent testified that the boy left a notebook in his
classroom with step-by-step instructions and a diagram to prepare
for the assault, including an estimate that he could kill as many as
26 people and wound as many as 13 others.
Colt and Colin Gray were interviewed by sheriff's deputies about an
online threat linked to Colt Gray in May 2023. Colt Gray denied
making the threat at the time. He skipped 8th grade, enrolled as a
freshman at Apalachee after the academic year began, and then
skipped multiple days of school.
Family members had been seeking psychological help for Colt Gray
before the shooting, but it appeared he never saw a counselor.
Colt’s mother, Marcee Gray, who was separated from Colin Gray, told
investigators that she had argued with Colin Gray weeks before the
shooting, asking him to secure his guns and restrict Colt’s access.
Instead, over time, he bought the boy ammunition, a gun sight and
other shooting accessories, records show.
Colt Gray even created a shrine in his bedroom to Nikolas Cruz, the
shooter in the 2018 massacre at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas
High School, prosecutors said.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
