Key facts
- A plea and sentencing hearing for Colt Gray, 16, is scheduled for July 24.
- Gray is accused of a September 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School that killed two students and two teachers.
- He pleaded not guilty to charges including murder.
- His father, Colin Gray, was convicted for providing the assault-style rifle used in the shooting.
- Colt Gray created a shrine to Nikolas Cruz in his bedroom.
A judge has scheduled a plea and sentencing hearing for July 24 for Colt Gray, 16, who is accused of a fatal shooting at Apalachee High School in September 2024. The shooting resulted in the deaths of two students and two teachers, with several others wounded. Gray had previously pleaded not guilty to charges including murder.
The hearing is a non-negotiated plea, meaning the sentence will be determined by the judge, not by an agreement between the prosecution and defense. Gray's trial had been slated for mid-October in Columbia County, after a change of venue was granted.
Colt Gray's father, Colin Gray, was convicted in March on charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for providing the assault-style rifle used in the attack. Colin Gray is also scheduled for sentencing later this month.
Investigators stated that Colt Gray, who was 14 at the time of the incident, meticulously planned the shooting. He reportedly left a notebook with detailed instructions and diagrams, estimating he could kill up to 26 people and wound 13 others. He carried the rifle, provided by his father, onto a school bus wrapped in poster board, and then emerged from a bathroom to carry out the attack in a classroom and hallway.
Records indicate that Colt Gray had been the subject of an online threat investigation in May 2023, which he denied. He skipped 8th grade and had multiple absences from Apalachee High School. Family members had sought psychological help for him, but he apparently never saw a counselor. His mother had argued with his father about securing firearms and restricting Colt's access, but Colin Gray proceeded to buy his son ammunition and shooting accessories. Colt Gray had also created a bedroom shrine dedicated to Nikolas Cruz, the perpetrator of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre.