Key facts
- Colt Gray, 16, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for a 2024 school shooting.
- The shooting resulted in four deaths and nine injuries.
- Gray pleaded guilty to 55 counts, including murder and assault.
- His father, Colin Gray, was previously convicted for providing the assault-style rifle.
- Prosecutors argued Gray sought notoriety and fame from his actions.
A Georgia teenager, Colt Gray, 16, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for a 2024 school shooting that killed four people and injured nine others. Gray pleaded guilty on Friday to 55 counts, including murder and assault charges. Judge Nicholas Primm stated that Gray's crimes reflected permanent incorrigibility and that he did not appear tormented by his actions. The shooting occurred on September 4, 2024, at Apalachee High School, where Gray, then 14, used an assault-style rifle given to him by his father, Colin Gray. Colin Gray was convicted in March on 27 charges, including second-degree murder, for providing the weapon despite alleged red flags. Prosecutors argued that Colt Gray was motivated by a desire for notoriety and fame, citing jailhouse calls where he discussed the "true crime community's" reaction to his rampage. His defense attorney, Charlton Allen, contended that Gray's traumatic childhood and parental neglect led him to embrace an online community that idolized violent crime, suggesting the shooting was a reflection of this environment. Colin Gray is scheduled for sentencing on Thursday.