Teen pleads guilty to 55 counts in Georgia school shooting

A teenager pleaded guilty on Friday, July 24, 2026, to all 55 charges against him for carrying out a deadly mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, nearly two years ago. Colt Gray, now 16, entered a nonnegotiated guilty plea, meaning he has no agreement with prosecutors regarding his sentence.

Gray was 14 years old when he opened fire at the school on September 4, 2024. The attack killed two students, 14-year-olds Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, and two teachers, Richard "Ricky" Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53. Nine other people were injured, with seven of them struck by gunfire. Gray was charged as an adult with counts including malice murder and aggravated assault.

The plea hearing, held in Barrow County Superior Court before Judge Nicholas Primm, shifted the legal proceedings from a trial to a sentencing determination. With a nonnegotiated plea, both prosecutors and defense attorneys will present their cases for an appropriate sentence directly to the judge. The court stated that the sentencing options range from life with the possibility of parole to life without parole.

During the emotional hearing, family members of the victims delivered...