A Georgia father faced the start of his trial on Monday, accused of contributing to a tragic high school shooting in 2024. The incident resulted in the deaths of two students and two teachers, with allegations that he allowed his teenage son access to a rifle despite numerous warning signs.
Colin Gray stands charged with nearly 30 felony counts, including second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and child cruelty, related to the September 4 attack at Apalachee High School in Winder. Prosecutors assert that his decision to arm his son played a direct role in the fatal incident.
“This case isn’t about penalizing parents for their children’s actions,” Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith emphasized to the jury during his opening remarks. “It’s about this defendant’s choice to let a child under his care access a firearm and ammunition after receiving warnings that the child intended to cause harm.”
In Georgia, second-degree murder charges may apply when a death occurs during the commission of child cruelty, which is the underlying felony in this situation. Smith explained that the charges are designed to reflect the victims’ experiences, linking cruelty-to-children charges with the students’ deaths and associating reckless conduct with involuntary manslaughter charges for the teachers.
District Attorney Brad Smith highlighted a weapon displayed on screen during the trial’s first day, as he presented the case against Colin Gray, the father of suspected Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray, at the Barrow County courthouse on Monday, February 16, 2026, in Winder, Georgia. (Photo Credit: Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
According to investigators, Colt Gray, who was 14 at the time, concealed a semiautomatic rifle in his backpack, which he later used to open fire in a classroom and hallways. Authorities reported that two school resource officers eventually apprehended him.
Defense attorney Brian Hobbs argued the teen hid his plans from his father.
“You cannot hold someone criminally responsible for failing to predict what was intentionally hidden from them,” Hobbs said.
Prosecutors pointed to what they described as a pattern of escalating red flags that were not acted upon.
In 2021, Colt Gray used a school computer to search “how to kill your dad,” Smith said. In May 2023, authorities investigated an online shooting threat traced to a computer at the Gray home after receiving a tip from the FBI. Colt Gray denied making the threat and said his account had been hacked, according to prosecutors. Smith said investigators asked Colin Gray at the time to restrict his son’s access to guns.
Colin Gray, the father of Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray, looks down as his attorney gives his opening statement in the courtroom at the Barrow County courthouse, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, in Winder, Ga. (Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Despite those incidents, prosecutors allege Colin Gray gave his son the rifle as a Christmas gift later that year and continued buying accessories, including what Smith described as “a lot of ammunition.”
Smith also told jurors that on the morning of the shooting, Colt’s mother called the school after receiving alarming text messages and warned a counselor that her son had access to firearms, prompting administrators to begin searching for him.
Prosecutors have said Colin Gray knew his son was obsessed with school shooters and had received a troubling text weeks before the attack that read: “Whenever something happens, just know the blood is on your hands.”
An investigator testified that Gray was aware his son’s mental health had deteriorated and had sought counseling services.
Colin Gray, the father of Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray, looks down as his attorney gives his opening statement in the courtroom at the Barrow County courthouse, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, in Winder, Ga. (Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
“We have had a very difficult past couple of years and he needs help. Anger, anxiety, quick to be volatile. I don’t know what to do,” Gray wrote, according to testimony.
Smith told jurors that despite those concerns, Gray did not pursue inpatient treatment for his son.
The trial is being held in Barrow County, where the shooting occurred, with jurors brought in from neighboring Hall County due to pretrial publicity.
Colt Gray is behind bars while awaiting his own trial. Day 2 of testimony in his father’s trial will proceed later today.
The case is among a growing number nationwide in which prosecutors are seeking to hold parents criminally responsible in deadly school shootings.
