Georgia father of school shooter to be sentenced July 30

The father who purchased the rifle used in the 2024 Apalachee High School shooting is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday, July 30, 2026, just two days after his teenage son was ordered to spend the rest of his life in prison. Colin Gray faces a potential maximum sentence of 180 years after a jury convicted him in March on 27 counts, including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, for providing the weapon his son used to kill four people.

The sentencing marks a pivotal moment in one of the nation's most prominent cases seeking to hold a parent criminally responsible for a school shooting carried out by their child. The attack occurred on September 4, 2024, at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, located about 45 miles northeast of Atlanta. The shooter, Colt Gray, was 14 at the time. He pleaded guilty to all 55 felony counts against him and was sentenced on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The victims were students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and teachers Richard "Ricky" Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53. Another teacher and eight students were wounded. Prosecutors argued that Colin Gray...