Suspect in Georgia school shooting appears in court for first time | Georgia high school shooting

The 14-year-old accused of killing two classmates and two teachers at his Georgia high school appeared in court for the first time on Friday – his father, who was arrested late Thursday evening, was expected to appear shortly afterwards.

Colt Gray appeared in person for the hearing at Barrow District Court, wearing a green prison gown and with his hands and ankles shackled at his waist. It had previously been announced that he planned to attend via video link. He travelled from the youth correctional facility where he is being held. He is being held there as a minor, although he is expected to be tried as an adult.

The suspect was charged with four counts of murder after he was arrested Wednesday following a shooting spree at Apalachee High School in Winder, outside Atlanta. Four people were shot and killed – students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and math teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53.

Another nine people were injured, seven of whom probably suffered gunshot wounds.

The younger Gray did not enter a plea on Friday, but answered yes to the judge’s question about whether he could read and write and was accompanied by an attorney.

The judge, Currie Mingledorff, initially told the 14-year-old that he could face the death penalty. He later called the boy back into court and told him that because he was under 18, he would not face the death penalty, but that if convicted, he would face the maximum sentence – life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

The teen’s father, Colin Gray, 54, was arrested and charged with four counts of manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of child abuse, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. The charges are allegedly directly related to the school shooting and the father’s allowing his son to possess a gun.

On Thursday evening, CNN reported that Colin Gray told investigators this week he gave the AR-15-style rifle to his son as a Christmas present in December of last year after purchasing it at a local gun store. That would have been seven months after the FBI questioned both the father and son in May 2023 after receiving a tip about threats to commit a school shooting posted on the gaming social media platform Discord.

The investigation was eventually closed after investigators could not confirm the threats.