@meghannmcuniff: Trial began today for a man charged in connection with a deadly shooting at a Georgia high school that his son is accused of committing. Two students and two teachers were killed in the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on September 4, 2024. Eight students and one teacher were injured. The murder victims were Mason Schermerhorn, 14; Christian Angulo, 14; Richard Aspinwall, 39 and a math teacher and defensive coordinator for the school's football team; and Cristina Irimie, 53 and a math teacher. Colin Gray's son, Colt Gray, is awaiting trial on 55 charges, including counts of murder and aggravated assault. The father's charges include involuntary manslaughter, second-degree murder and cruelty to children. Prosecutors say he gave his son the gun used in the shooting as a Christmas gift. Barrow County District Attorney J. Bradley "Brad" Smith gave the opening statement this morning (Monday, February 16). "This is not a case about holding parents accountable for what their children do," Smith told the jury. "This case is about this defendant and his actions, his actions in allowing a child that he has custody over access to a firearm and ammunition after being warned that that child was going to harm others. This is a case about his actions and the horrific consequences of them," Smith said. Smith showed jurors photos of a "shrine, for lack fo a better word" that Colt had in his bedroom to the gunman who murdered 17 people and injured 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. "Investigators look at this and they begin to wonder, 'Who is this kid?' His name is Colt Gray. He's the oldest son of Colin Gray. His mother is Marcee Gray," Smith said. He told jurors how Gray was asked to restrict Colt's access to firearms but instead bought him a Sig Sauer M400 for Christmas when he was 13. "He allows Colt to keep this rifle propped up in Colt's room," Smith said. "During that spring, when Colt's not in school, the defendant continues to buy accessories for his Christmas present rifle. He buys a Sightmark ultra shot sight to go on the rifle. He buys a bungee sling to go for the rifle. He buys an accessory rail set. He buys a 45-degree offset iron sights, and he buys a lot of ammunition." You can watch some of Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith’s testimony here @Meghann Cuniff. Jury selection was moved from Barrow County to Hall County because of extensive pretrial publicity in Barrow County, but the trial is being held in Winder. Nicholas Primm, the chief judge in Georgia's Piedmont Judicial Circuit, is presiding. #law #crime #court #attorney #parenting

Meghann Cuniff

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Monday 16 February 2026 22:47:39 GMT