A teenager pleaded guilty Friday to all 55 counts stemming from a September 2024 mass shooting at Apalachee High School that left four people dead and nine others injured.
Colt Gray, 16, entered a non-negotiated guilty plea without a deal from prosecutors. He had previously pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges connected to the Sept. 4, 2024, attack at the school, located about 45 miles northeast of Atlanta.
Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm will now determine Gray’s sentence after reviewing case summaries, evidence, and recommendations from both sides. The plea cancels a trial that was set for mid-October in Columbia County following a change of venue.
The shooting killed teachers Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, along with 14-year-old students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo. One teacher and eight students were wounded, seven of whom were hit by gunfire.
Gray, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, was charged as an adult on counts including murder and 25 counts of aggravated assault.
Investigators testified that Gray brought an assault-style rifle onto a school bus disguised in poster board. He then left a classroom, entered a bathroom, and emerged with the weapon to shoot victims in a hallway and classroom.
Authorities said they found a notebook in Gray’s classroom detailing a step-by-step plan for the attack, along with a shrine in his bedroom dedicated to the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter.
The plea comes months after a jury convicted the suspect’s father, Colin Gray, on charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors said the elder Gray provided his son with the rifle used in the attack despite warnings about his deteriorating mental health. Colin Gray is scheduled for sentencing next week.
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