Georgia teen gets life without parole for 2024 shooting

A Georgia teenager was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, for killing four people in a 2024 school shooting. Colt Gray, now 16, received the sentence from Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm after pleading guilty last week to 55 charges, including four counts of malice murder, for the attack at Apalachee High School.

The shooting on September 4, 2024, killed teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Another teacher and eight students were wounded, seven by gunfire. Because Gray was 14 at the time of the attack, Georgia law prohibited prosecutors from seeking the death penalty, leaving the judge to decide between life with or without parole.

During a three-day sentencing hearing, prosecutors argued the attack was a deliberate and extensively planned act driven by a desire for notoriety. District Attorney Brad Smith told the court that Gray had studied previous mass shooters, particularly Parkland gunman Nikolas Cruz, and had carefully staged "Easter eggs" mimicking details from other attacks to perpetuate his fame within online true...