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Published 11:41 25 Jul 2026 GMT
A school shooter who admitted to killing four people at his high school was seen laughing in court as one of his surviving victims described the life-changing injuries she suffered in the attack.
Colt Gray, now 16, pleaded guilty on Friday (July 24) to murdering four people and injuring nine others during the mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County on September 4, 2024.
Gray was just 14 years old when he entered his algebra classroom with a rifle and fired around 15 shots.
Students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, were tragically killed, along with teachers Cristina Irimie, 52, and Richard Aspinwall, 39.
He now faces a minimum sentence of life in prison after pleading guilty to 55 felony charges.
During the sentencing hearing, survivor Natalie Griffith gave a victim impact statement describing how the shooting continues to affect her every day.
The young woman, who was among the nine people wounded in the attack, became emotional as she recalled what happened in court.
At one point, she appeared overwhelmed and began speaking more quickly before the judge encouraged her to slow down.
"I'm sorry," Griffith replied.
As the exchange unfolded, Gray was seen grinning and laughing while seated between his defence attorneys.
The courtroom also briefly laughed before Griffith continued her statement.
"I got shot twice, once in my wrist and once in my upper arm," she said. "I lost the ability to use my left hand, but on some days it doesn't feel like that is the biggest thing I lost."
"After the shooting, I lost my independence. I could not put on my own clothes or do my own hair, things that were easy for me became a challenge."
She also described how the trauma continues to shape her daily life.
"My mind immediately goes to the worst possible scenario," she continued. "I wonder if there's a gun. I wonder if I need to run. I'm so very afraid of loud sounds. And I start to panic when I hear them."
"Some days when I think about the shooting it feels like he killed me even though I lived. The part of me that trusted people died," she added.
The court also heard from Breanna Schermerhorn, whose 14-year-old son Mason was killed in the attack.
"I do not forgive, Mr. Gray," she told the court. "He took away every birthday we would have celebrated, every holiday, every graduation, every milestone, every hug."
Jurors were also shown an interview Gray gave investigators shortly after the shooting, in which he admitted becoming fixated on Nikolas Cruz, who carried out the 2018 Parkland school shooting.
"I became obsessed with him on an emotional level because I understood some of the stuff he came through," Gray said. "He shot up his school, but on an emotional level I could understand the trauma and stuff that he went through."
Gray also revealed that around a week and a half before the shooting, he created a Securus messaging account in an attempt to contact Cruz.
He said he introduced himself before sending a second message in hopes of getting a reply, but Cruz never responded.
Gray's father, Colin Gray, was also prosecuted over the shooting after police said he ignored several warning signs and gave his son the AR-15-style rifle used in the attack as a Christmas gift.
Prosecutors said the 55-year-old had even boasted about his son's shooting abilities before the tragedy.
"We do a lot of shooting, we do a lot of deer hunting," Colin was heard saying in an audio recording. "He actually shot his first deer this year."
Earlier this year, a jury found the father guilty of 29 charges tied to the shooting, making him one of the first times a parent has been charged for their child’s crimes and school shooting violence.
Prosecutors had argued Colin was "the one person who could have prevented" the tragedy and that he knew his son "was a bomb just waiting to go off" when he gave him the firearm, per BBC News.
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Published 10:57 05 Sep 2024 GMT
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Published 16:03 07 Sep 2024 GMT
Published 15:36 06 Sep 2024 GMT
The suspect who allegedly carried out a school shooting in Georgia reportedly said three words to the police after he was arrested.
As previously reported, the tragic incident unfolded on Wednesday morning when Colt Gray, 14, allegedly opened fire inside Apalachee High School at approximately 10:30AM, resulting in the deaths of two students and two teachers.
The victims have been identified as 14-year-old students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angelo, along with two math teachers, Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie.
A new report by the New York Post has provided insight into Gray's upbringing, with a former neighbor recounting troubling incidents involving the family.
Lauren Vickers, who lived next door to the Gray family in Jefferson, Georgia, told the outlet about disturbing events she witnessed.
“There were nights where the mom would lock him and his sister out of the house.
"They’d be banging on the back door, just screaming: ‘Mom! Mom!’ and crying. It was absolutely devastating,” Vickers claimed.
Vickers further alleged that Gray’s younger sibling would sometimes come to her yard asking for food.
"No clean clothes, I’m not exaggerating. It was constant abuse. It’s very, very sad," she added.
Investigators had visited the Gray household in May 2023 after the FBI received tips about online threats Gray had allegedly made regarding a potential school shooting.
At the time, both father and son were interviewed, with Gray denying the threats.
His father told authorities he kept hunting guns at home but assured them Colt didn’t have access to them.
The officers had advised Colin Gray to secure the firearms and suggested keeping his son out of school until the matter was resolved.
However, due to conflicting evidence regarding the online threats, the case was closed, and no arrests were made.
In a report by the New York Post, Gray reportedly confessed to investigators shortly after his arrest, saying: “I did it."
The chilling admission came during an interrogation following the tragic Wednesday morning shooting, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith told CNN.
Gray, who has been charged with murder and will be tried as an adult, made his first court appearance on Friday.
Following Wednesday’s tragic events, investigators searched Colt Gray’s home and uncovered documents in his bedroom that suggested an obsession with previous school shootings.
Among the material were details related to the 2018 Parkland massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, law enforcement sources told CNN.
It remains unclear what specific aspects of the Parkland shooting Colt had allegedly studied.
Published 11:34 08 Sep 2024 GMT
The 14-year-old alleged shooter at Apalachee High School reportedly sent his mom a harrowing three-word text just minutes before the attack.
On September 4, police responded to the school following reports of an active shooter.
The victims at the school in Winder, Barrow County included two 14-year-old students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, and two teachers, Christina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall.
Colt Gray, 14, was arrested on suspicion of carrying out the attack and is expected to be tried as an adult.
Nine others were injured during the shooting. According to CNN, Gray allegedly surrendered when confronted by a school resource officer.
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith stated that after his arrest, Gray confessed to investigators, saying: "I did it."
In the aftermath, troubling details about the days and moments leading up to the shooting have come to light. The Washington Post reported that Gray sent a message apologizing to his mother, Marcee, before the shooting, prompting her to urgently call the school.
Charles Polhamus, Gray’s maternal grandfather, told The Post that his daughter was at his house when she received the message, which allegedly said, "I’m sorry, mom."
Marcee called the school to alert staff of an "extreme emergency" and later told her sister: “I was the one that notified the school counselor at the high school. I told them it was an extreme emergency and for them to go immediately and find [my son] to check on him.”
It was later revealed that the FBI had interviewed Gray in May 2023 following anonymous reports of someone making "online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time."
Gray, interviewed with his father, denied making the threats, and no arrests were made at that time.
The FBI issued a statement saying: "The father stated that he had hunting guns in the house, but the subject did not have unsupervised access to them [...] At the time, there was no probable cause for an arrest or to take any additional law enforcement action on the local, state or federal levels."
Colt Gray’s father, Colin Gray, has also been arrested in connection with the shooting and faces charges including "four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children," according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Published 10:08 06 Sep 2024 GMT
The first mugshot of the 14-year-old who allegedly carried out a school shooting in Georgia has been released.
The tragic event unfolded Wednesday morning at Apalachee High School, leaving two students and two teachers dead.
Colt Gray, 14, is alleged to have opened fire inside the school at approximately 10:30AM, according to details shared by officials during a press conference Wednesday evening, as cited by the New York Post.
The four victims were identified as students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angelo, both 14, and math teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie.
A new report by the New York Post has now shed light on Gray's upbringing.
A former neighbor, Lauren Vickers, who lived next door to the Gray family in Jefferson, Georgia, recounted troubling incidents to the outlet.
“There were nights where the mom would lock him and his sister out of the house. They’d be banging on the back door, just screaming, ‘Mom! Mom!’ and crying. It was absolutely devastating,” she claimed.
Vickers also claimed that the youngest child would sometimes come to her yard asking for food, alleging: "No clean clothes, I’m not exaggerating. It was constant abuse. It’s very, very sad."
Gray’s mother, Marcee, 43, has a long criminal record, including arrests for drug offenses and domestic violence.
According to Vickers, she frequently drew attention in the neighborhood.
“I would find her in the driveway, passed out, with the car running and music blaring early in the morning,” she said, describing incidents where Marcee allegedly drove her younger child to daycare while intoxicated.
Gray’s father, Colin, 54, reportedly bought his son an AR-15 rifle for Christmas last year, despite a prior FBI investigation into online threats Colt had made.
Authorities now allege this rifle was used in the tragic shooting.
Colt’s maternal grandfather, Charles Polhamus, told CNN: “He was just a good kid who lived in an environment that was hostile. His dad beat up on him - not physically, but screaming and hollering, and he did the same thing to my daughter.”
A mugshot of Colt has since been released following his arrest.
As authorities try to understand Colt Gray’s motive for the shooting, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is reviewing previous contacts between the family and the state’s child protective services agency.
GBI Director Chris Hosey said: “We are pursuing that avenue as well to see if that has any connection with today’s incident.”
Vickers claimed that despite her repeated calls to child services, little action was taken. “They came, talked to me, and did nothing,” she said.
Gray, who has been charged as an adult with four counts of murder, is set to appear in court on Friday.
His motive for the shooting remains unclear as authorities continue to investigate the events that led to the tragic incident.