Father who gave son the rifle used in Apalachee school shooting faces over 100 years at sentencing

Sentencing is now underway for Colin Gray, the father who admitted to giving his son the assault rifle used to carry out a mass shooting at a Georgia high school. Back in court to be sentenced, Colin Gray, the father of Colt Gray, now faces more than 100 years in prison. He was convicted earlier this year of 27 counts, including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, in part for purchasing the rifle used in the shooting as a Christmas gift to his son, who was then 13 years old. The weapon was later used by Colt Gray to carry out a mass shooting at Apalachee High School in 2024, where two students and two teachers were killed. Colt Gray pleaded guilty to more than 50 counts and was sentenced earlier this week to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Now, just days later, it is his father's turn before the judge.

A father who armed the teenager behind a deadly Georgia school shooting is now himself facing the prospect of spending the rest of his life behind bars. Sentencing is now underway for Colin Gray, who admitted to giving his son the assault rifle used to carry out a mass shooting at a high school, and back in court to be sentenced, he now faces more than 100 years in prison.

Colin Gray is the father of Colt Gray. The case against him has already been decided, with a jury convicting him earlier this year of 27 counts, a sweeping tally of charges that included second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter tied to his role in the events that led to the shooting.

At the heart of his conviction was the way his son came to have the weapon. Colin Gray was found guilty in part for purchasing the rifle used in the shooting as a Christmas gift to his son, who was then just 13 years old, a decision that prosecutors connected directly to the bloodshed that followed.

That rifle did not stay a gift for long. The weapon was later used by Colt Gray to carry out a mass shooting at Apalachee High School in 2024, turning a firearm handed over as a present into the instrument of one of the state's worst school attacks.

The human cost of that day was severe. Two students and two teachers were killed in the shooting at Apalachee High School, a loss that has hung over every stage of the legal proceedings against both the shooter and the father who supplied the gun.

The teenager responsible has already learned his fate. Colt Gray pleaded guilty to more than 50 counts, and earlier this week he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, meaning he will spend the rest of his life incarcerated for the attack.

Now, just days after his son's sentence was handed down, it is Colin Gray who stands before the court. With the sentencing hearing underway and more than 100 years in prison on the table, the father's case marks the next chapter in holding those around the shooter accountable for the massacre at Apalachee High School.

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