Colin Gray, the father of Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray, was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison after a Georgia judge said he "failed as a parent" by ignoring escalating warning signs before the 2024 school massacre.Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm sentenced Gray, 55, to concurrent prison terms after telling him "the warning lights were flashing brighter and brighter" before the shooting and that he failed to remove his son's access to firearms or get him needed mental health treatment."It is clear you failed as a parent," Primm said before handing down the sentence."The weight of your crimes is tethered and tied to the acts of someone else, your son."A jury convicted Colin Gray in March on 27 counts, including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, after prosecutors argued he gave his son the AR-15-style rifle used in the attack despite mounting concerns about the teen's mental health.
He is the first parent of a school shooter to be convicted of murder.FORMER VIRGINIA ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL ON TRIAL AFTER ALLEGEDLY IGNORING WARNINGS BEFORE 6-YEAR-OLD SHOT TEACHERColin Gray is escorted from Barrow County Superior Court after being sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in the 2024 Apalachee High School shooting on July 30, 2026, in Winder, Ga.(Hyosub Shin/Pool Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)The sentencing came after Colt Gray pleaded guilty to all 55 charges against him and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.During Thursday's hearing, victims' family members urged the judge to impose the maximum sentence, describing the lasting pain caused by the Sept.
4, 2024, shooting.NEW VIDEO SHOWS OKLAHOMA HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL TACKLING GUNMAN WHO OPENED FIRE INSIDE THE SCHOOLColin Gray, the father of Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.(Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)Shayna Aspinwall, the widow of slain teacher Richard "Ricky" Aspinw...