Apalachee school shooting: Father of teen gunman sentenced to 15 years in prison

WINDER, Ga. — The Georgia man who gave his son the gun that was used at an Atlanta suburban high school, which resulted in the shooting deaths of two students and two teachers and wounding several others, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday. Colin Gray, 55, was sentenced by Judge Nicholas Primm in a Barrow County courtroom, two days after his son, Colt Gray, 16, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the Sept. 4, 2024, shootings, which occurred at Apalachee High School in Winder.

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Scoop News DeskWinder, Georgia · Published Thursday, July 30, 2026 at 5:20 PM UTCUpdated Thursday, July 30, 2026 at 8:56 PM UTC

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Colin Gray was also sentenced to 10 years for child cruelty, with lesser sentences for his other charges and all prison time to run concurrently, according to WSB-TV . “It is clear you failed as a parent,” Primm told Colin Gray before sentencing. “You were convicted because the warning lights were flashing brighter and brighter, and you didn’t give (your son) help.” In March, a jury found Colin Gray guilty of 27 crimes in connection with the mass shooting, according to WSB-TV . Another teacher and eight other students were wounded, seven of whom were hit by gunfire. That made him one of a handful of parents in the United States who have been criminally charged after their children were accused in shootings, The Associated Press reported.

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