The father of a 14-year-old boy accused of mass shootings at a Georgia high school has pleaded not guilty to a series of charges.
Colin Gray did not appear in court in Georgia on Thursday, but his lawyers entered the plea on his behalf and waived a formal arraignment.
The 54-year-old father was charged last month with 29 charges, including manslaughter, manslaughter, cruelty to children and reckless endangerment.
Each charge is related to his son’s horrific attack on September 4 at Appalache High School, where he allegedly opened fire on students and staff, killing four people.
Prosecutors have tried to portray Gray, who is being tried separately from his son, as a negligent father who knowingly ignored his teenage child’s declining mental health and burgeoning obsession with school shootings.
Colin is accused of giving his son access to the high-powered AR-style rifle used in the attack, even though he knew he was a threat to himself and others.
Witnesses in the case also testified that the father had purchased a laser sight, tactical vest and ammunition for his son prior to the fatal shooting.
At a preliminary hearing for the “negligent” father, an investigator testified that Colt had placed a “shrine” in his bedroom of previous school shootings, including a photo of Nikolas Cruz — the shooter in the 2018 shooting at a Parkland high school , Florida.
Colin Gray, 54, father of a 14-year-old boy accused of carrying out a mass shooting at a Georgia high school, pleaded not guilty to the 29 charges filed against him
Colin Gray did not appear in court in Georgia on Thursday, but his lawyers told the judge during the brief, nearly five-minute hearing that their client had pleaded not guilty and was moving to forego a formal arraignment.
The charges come nearly two months after Gray’s son, 14-year-old Colt Gray (pictured), allegedly opened fire at his 1,900-student high school, killing two of his classmates and two teachers.
Prosecutors have also drawn attention to the fact that Colin Gray did not call the high school the morning of the shooting, even after receiving disturbing text messages from his son.
The charges come nearly two months after Gray’s son, 14-year-old Colt Gray, allegedly opened fire at his 1,900-student high school, killing two of his classmates, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and two teachers, Richard Aspinwall, perished. , 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53.
Another teacher and eight more students were injured in the raid, seven of whom were hit by gunfire.
That fateful morning, the teen allegedly concealed the long-barreled pistol in a billboard neatly tucked into his book bag while aboard a school bus, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent said.
Colt Gray later left the second-period classroom and went to the restroom with his backpack. The teen then left the bathroom wearing gloves and sat with the poster board in front of him in an attempt to hide the murder weapon, security footage revealed.
He then walked to the door of his math class to go back inside, but a student who wanted to let him in realized what was going on, backed away and told the teacher.
The teacher then went to the door window, told her students to sit in the corner of the classroom and initiated a lockdown, the GBI agent said.
Colt Gray then entered another classroom and began shooting his gun, hitting six to seven people in the span of about seven seconds.
That fateful morning, the teen allegedly concealed the long-barreled pistol in a billboard neatly tucked into his book bag while aboard a school bus, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent said. Pictured: Police tape surrounds the area of Apalachee High School on September 5, 2024 in Winder, Georgia
Students Mason Schermerhorn, 14 (top left), Christian Angulo, 14 (top right), and teachers Richard Aspinwall (bottom right) and Christina Irimie (bottom left) were killed in the shooting
Last month, the disgraced teen entered a written plea that he is not guilty of all charges and faces up to life in prison if convicted. Pictured: Colt Gray, 14, appears in court on September 6
The gunman then returned to the bathroom around 10:22 a.m. before firing multiple shots at a teacher, the GBI agent added.
He then turned and shot two coaches before shooting at a student who was leaving the bathroom, killing them.
Two school officers then approached the armed teen and ordered him to put the gun down.
According to the GBI agent, the teen left a notebook behind when he left for the bathroom. The notebook contained a detailed plan of how he would carry out the heinous crime, along with an estimate of the number of people who would die and drawings of his classroom.
Colt Gray was later arrested and charged the day after the fatal shooting and has been held at the Barrow County Detention Center without bond since.
Last month, the disgraced teen entered a written plea that he is not guilty of all charges and faces up to life in prison if convicted.
This grueling case marks the first time a parent of an alleged school shooter has been charged with murder.
The charges against the 54-year-old father stand as one of the latest examples of parents being held responsible for their children’s actions in school shootings.
In 2021, the parents of Oxford, Michigan, student Ethan Crumbley, who killed four students and injured seven others, were the first to be convicted in a mass school shooting in America.
The pair, Jennifer and Jason Crumbley, were sentenced to at least 10 years in prison for not having a firearm in their home and “acting indifferent” to signs of their son’s declining mental health prior to his brutal murders.