The father of an alleged school shooter was overcome with emotion as he viewed footage of his son prowling the corridors before the tragic incident unfolded.
Colin Gray, 54, faces charges for purportedly facilitating his son, Colt Gray, 14, in executing the deadly attack that claimed the lives of four individuals.
Authorities allege that Gray purchased the AR-15-style rifle used in the September 4, 2024, tragedy at Apalachee High School for Colt.
As Colt awaits trial, he stands accused of firing upon the school community, resulting in the deaths of students Mason Schermerhorn, 14, and Christian Angulo, 14, as well as teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53. The assault also left nine others wounded.
During proceedings on Thursday, Gray broke down in tears, shielding his eyes as he watched the surveillance video that captured his son navigating the school with the firearm discreetly hidden behind a white poster board and a backpack.
The video revealed the unsettling scene of Colt entering the building with the weapon as students and faculty unknowingly passed by.
He was seen making his way down the hallway before entering a classroom and fidgeting around in his seat and looking down at his cellphone.
Colt then walked into a bathroom with his backpack, where he texted his mother, Marcee Gray, ‘I’m sorry mom.’ Gray then called the school about her son.
Colin Gray, the father of the alleged Georgia school shooter Colt Gray, became emotional as he watched a video of his son in the hallways of his school before four people were killed
Colt was seen wearing yellow gloves as he concealed an AR-15-style rifle with a large poster board and a backpack on September 4, 2024
Resource officers went into the restroom and escorted another student out who had a similar name to Colt, leaving the teen free to allegedly carry out the shooting, according to Sheriff Jud Smith.
Afterward, Colt, wearing a white T-shirt, khaki pants and yellow gloves, appeared to limp as he continued to carry the bag with the gun inside.
Another camera angle showed Colt looking through the door window of a classroom, holding the rifle.
His father is facing 29 charges, including two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, 20 counts of cruelty to children and five counts of reckless conduct.
If convicted of all his charges, Gray could be sentenced to a maximum of 180 years in prison.
Colt will be tried as an adult and is facing 55 charges including four counts of felony murder.
Gray took the stand on Friday after prosecutors rested their case on Thursday afternoon.
He told the court he gifted Colt the rifle for Christmas in 2023, hoping that it would bring them closer together through hunting and trips to the gun range.
Prosecutors said that the father’s decision came despite warning signs about Colt’s behavior and mental health.
Two students: Mason Schermerhorn (top left), 14, and Christian Angulo (top right), 14, and two teachers: Richard Aspinwall (bottom right), 39, and Cristina Irimie (bottom left), 53, died that day
The footage showed Colt, who had just started attending Apalachee High School, walking into the school with the concealed firearm alongside other students
‘I could have done better,’ he confessed on the stand.
When questioned by his attorney, Brian Hobbs, if he noticed any ‘red flags’ from his son that made him believe he would be capable of the violent act, Gray took a moment before stating: ‘No. I struggle with it every day.’
‘He’s a good kid. He wasn’t perfect, and nor was I. But to do something that heinous, I don’t know of anybody that can ever see that kind of evil,’ he added.
‘Like the Colt I knew and the relationship I had, there’s this whole other side of Colt I didn’t know existed.’
More than a year before the shooting, police had interviewed Colt and Gray about a threat to carry out a school shooting that had been made on a Discord account created with an email associated with the teenager.
The father told investigators that his son had access to firearms in the home, as he was teaching Colt about gun safety and how to hunt, but his access to them was not ‘unfettered.’
He said that if his son did make the threat, he would be ‘mad as hell’ and that ‘all the guns will go away.’
Ultimately, investigators closed the case after being unable to substantiate that Colt was connected to the Discord account and they did not find grounds to seek the needed court order to confiscate the family’s guns, according to police reports.
He was also seen fidgeting in his seat and texting on his phone inside a classroom before he walked to the bathroom with the gun
Colt’s trial date has not yet been set, but he will be tried as an adult and is facing 55 charges, including four counts of felony murder. He is seen in court on December 9, 2025
The prosecutor said that despite Colt’s disturbing behavior, which made his parents believe he needed to be institutionalized, they never got the teenager the help he needed and allowed him to keep the rifle.
Colt’s family frequently moved and by seventh grade, the teen had been enrolled in seven different schools in just four years. He had been enrolled at Apalachee High School for just five days by the time of the shooting.
Suzanne Harris, a computer science teacher at the high school, testified that she had noticed the concealed weapon sticking out of Colt’s backpack.
She said that she assumed it was a school project but thought it was odd as he had only been attending for a few days, so she asked him about it.
‘I asked him what his project was about, and he didn’t really have much to say about the project, but he did tell me that he would show it to me later if I wanted to see it,’ the teacher said in court.
Harris also said that she noticed Colt was struggling to carry the backpack and that he seemed nervous when she asked if he needed help.
His trial date has not yet been scheduled, but he is due to appear in court for a hearing on March 18.
