Colin Gray, father of Apalachee High School shooter, pleads not guilty

The father of Colt Gray, a 14-year-old accused of fatally shooting 4 radical astatine Apalachee High School successful Georgia, has pleaded not blameworthy to charges blaming him for the September massacre carried retired by his son.

Colin Gray is facing 29 charges — including 2 counts of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree execution and cruelty to children — related to the shooting astatine his son’s precocious schoolhouse successful Winder, a Georgia suburb immoderate 50 miles extracurricular Atlanta.

Gray did not look successful tribunal for the proceeding connected Thursday, leaving his lawyer to enter a plea connected his behalf and waive his close to a ceremonial arraignment.

Armed with an AR-15-style rifle, Colt Gray opened occurrence wrong his schoolhouse connected the greeting of Sept. 4. Police said helium killed 2 teachers and 2 students earlier helium was confronted by a schoolhouse assets serviceman and surrendered connected the scene.

The victims were aboriginal identified arsenic mathematics teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53, arsenic good arsenic students Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn, some 14. Another 9 radical were hospitalized successful the aftermath of the schoolroom carnage.

A poster with images of shooting victims from left, Cristina Irimie, Mason Schermerhorn, Richard Aspinwall and Christian Angulo is displayed astatine a memorial extracurricular Apalachee High School, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, successful Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Charlotte Kramon)

Colin Gray was arrested 1 time later, with authorities arguing that helium facilitated the shooting by allowing his lad to person a deadly weapon. Investigators antecedently testified that he purchased the firearm allegedly used successful the shooting arsenic a Christmas contiguous for his lad past twelvemonth — contempt the information that they’d been interviewed by instrumentality enforcement officials successful May 2023 successful transportation with online threats Colt allegedly made to transportation retired a schoolhouse shooting.

Prosecutors besides argued that Colin was alert his lad had an obsession with schoolhouse shooters to the constituent that helium adjacent had a shrine to the gunman down the 2018 massacre astatine Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School successful Parkland, Fla.

Colt Gray was separately indicted past period connected 55 counts, including 4 counts of malice execution and 4 counts of felony murder. He has besides pleaded not blameworthy and will beryllium tried arsenic an adult.

With News Wire Services