Colt Gray, the teenager accused in the 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, pleaded guilty to all 55 charges against him on Friday.
Gray changed his plea and entered a non-negotiated guilty plea in connection with the shooting, which left four people dead and nine others injured. Prosecutors did not offer a plea deal, meaning the decision on Gray’s sentence now rests entirely with the judge.
The plea comes as Gray’s father, Colin Gray, separately awaits his own sentencing. A Barrow County jury convicted the elder Gray in March on 27 felony counts, including two counts of second-degree murder, after prosecutors argued he gave his son the AR-style rifle used in the shooting despite knowing about his son’s deteriorating mental state. Colin Gray’s sentencing hearing is set to begin July 28 and is expected to run into the following days, with some court filings listing the hearing as extending through July 30. He faces up to 180 years in prison.
Because Colt Gray pleaded guilty to murder, he faces a mandatory minimum of life in prison, with the judge deciding whether he will ever be eligible for parole. Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm questioned Gray extensively before accepting the plea to confirm he understood the consequences and was entering it voluntarily. Following the plea, victims’ family members took the stand to deliver emotional impact statements, with several urging the judge to hand down a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. The sentencing hearing recessed Friday and is set to resume Monday, when Gray’s defense team is expected to call a psychologist, a juvenile detention counselor, and his grandmother to testify.
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