What You Need to Know About the Colin Gray Trial

GEORGIA - In September 2024, a 14-year-old wielding an assault weapon shot and killed two teachers, two students, and wounded nine others at Apalachee High School, where he was a student. It is alleged that Colin Gray, the shooter's father, purchased and gifted his son an AR-15 roughly five months after law enforcement launched an investigation into the shooter for making online threats.

The FBI and Jackson County police reportedly visited the family, where the father was directly asked about his firearms and his son's access to them. It's also been reported that law enforcement officials found evidence of the shooter's interest in mass shootings - particularly the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida - during a search of his room.

Opening statements in Colin Gray's trial are set to begin today, following the seating of a full jury last week. Gray faces 29 charges, including second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and cruelty to children. This trial is a landmark case for Georgia, as prosecutors seek to hold a parent criminally responsible for a school shooting committed by their child, following the legal precedent set by the Crumbley case in Michigan.

"If true, the allegation that Mr. Gray bought his son a weapon of war as a present - months after being investigated for making threats to shoot up a school - is a complete dereliction of responsibility, both as a gun owner and a community member," said Nick Suplina, SVP of Law & Policy at Everytown for Gun Safety. "When guns are our nation's leading cause of death for children and teens, and 76% of school shooters under the age of 18 obtain their firearms from the home of a parent or relative, it is the responsibility of adults to prevent kids from accessing deadly weapons without supervision."

What Should Lawmakers Do to Prevent School Shootings?

While local authorities were right to charge Mr. Gray for his alleged behavior, gun safety advocates continue to highlight the spectrum of individuals and institutions that have a responsibility to prioritize public safety in the wake of the deadly shooting in Winder, including state lawmakers who have failed to put the safety of their communities over the demands of the gun lobby.

In recent years, Georgia lawmakers have not only failed to pass any gun safety legislation but have also worked to weaken the state's gun laws further. For one, the Republican led-legislature passed a law requiring colleges and universities to allow guns on campus in 2017, and in 2023, passed permitless carry despite 88% of Americans being in favor of policies requiring gun owners to obtain a permit before carrying a concealed weapon in public.

School is the last place where kids should have to worry about gun violence. Yet, research shows us that the 2022-23 school year saw the second-highest number of incidents of gunfire since tracking first began in 2013. Despite what extremist politicians say, school shootings are not a 'fact of life' but a policy failure. If Georgia lawmakers want to prevent the next tragedy, they should pass the following laws:

Secure Storage Requirements

A U.S. Secret Service analysis of nearly 40 years of school violence found that three-quarters - 76 percent - of targeted school shooters acquired their firearm from the home of a parent or close relative. In nearly half of these shootings, the firearm was easily accessible or was not stored securely.

In states where secure storage is required, unintentional child shootings are 72% lower than in states without such protections. These laws also serve as a critical intervention for mental health; in states with CAP laws, adolescents aged 14 to 17 saw an 11% decrease in firearm suicide rates and an 8% decrease in total suicides. The need for these mandates is underscored by a stark gap between parental perception and reality: while 70% of parents believe their firearms are inaccessible, one-third of teens in those homes report they could access the gun in under five minutes. Despite these measurable safety benefits and the fact that 4.6 million American children live in homes with loaded, unlocked firearms, Georgia currently does not have a Child Access Prevention law. Georgia lawmakers have the opportunity to keep children - and communities statewide - safe.

In the current legislative session, gun safety advocates are urging Georgia lawmakers to pass House Bill 1, which aims to hold gun owners responsible when a minor accesses a firearm that was not securely stored.

Extreme Risk Protection Order Laws

Research shows that, as was the case with the shooter at the Apalachee High School, school shooters nearly always exhibit clear warning signs before they carry out violence. If Georgia had an Extreme Risk law in place, it is possible that the shooter's parents or local authorities could have petitioned a court to temporarily prohibit the shooter from purchasing and possessing guns, potentially preventing the shooting and saving lives.

Georgia's weak gun laws enable easy access to guns by people with a demonstrated history of dangerous behavior, and the state needs a tool to temporarily remove access to firearms from those in a time of crisis.

Currently, twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have Extreme Risk laws on the books. This includes states like Florida, where then-Governor Rick Scott signed a Red Flag law just three weeks after a gunman killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Then-Governor Scott argued that it is possible to be both a gun owner and recognize the research showing that red flag laws can help stop mass shootings.

Banning Assault Weapons

From 2015 to 2022, shootings with four or more people killed where assault weapons were used resulted in more than twice as many people killed, and more than 20 times as many people wounded per incident, on average. Additionally, since 2015, eight of the ten deadliest mass shooting incidents all involved the use of an assault weapon and a firearm equipped with a high-capacity magazine.

We know that laws banning assault weapons work. When there was a bipartisan-supported ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines from 1994 to 2004 at the federal level, mass shooting fatalities were 70 percent less likely to occur than during the 12 years studied before and after, a 2019 study found.

Georgia lawmakers can save lives by passing a ban on assault weapons, and Congress should follow suit. At the very least, 14-year-olds should not be allowed to possess assault weapons. Colin Gray bought the weapon for his son, but once he did that, his son was legally allowed to possess it under Georgia law. Georgia lawmakers should ensure that weapons of war stay out of our children's hands.

More About the Case Against Colin Gray, Father of the Apalachee High School Shooter

According to reports, Mr. Gray purchased the shooter's AR-15-style assault weapon in December 2023, roughly five months after law enforcement launched an investigation into the shooter for making online threats. It's also been reported that law enforcement officials found evidence of the suspect's interest in mass shootings - particularly the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida - during a search of his room.

The arrest of Mr. Gray came months after Jennifer and James Crumbley, parents of the Oxford High School shooter, were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. According to reports, the Crumbleys purchased a pistol for their son as a gift just days before he used it to carry out the mass shooting at Oxford High School in Oxford, Michigan. Prosecutors argued that the Crumbleys ignored warning signs and concerns raised by school officials, including on the day of the shooting that killed four individuals and wounded seven.