WINDER — A judge set a non-negotiated plea and sentencing hearing for Colt Gray to begin on July 24, 2026, in Barrow County, Georgia. Gray is scheduled to appear in court to change his plea from not guilty to guilty in connection with the September 4, 2024, shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, which killed two students and two teachers.

Gray, who was 14 years old at the time of the shooting, carried out the attack at the high school, which has approximately 1,900 students. The victims were identified as teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Nine other people were wounded in the incident, including one teacher and eight students, seven of whom were struck by gunfire.

On the morning of the shooting, Gray brought an assault-style rifle to school hidden in his backpack. He had carried the weapon onto the school bus with the barrel wrapped in poster board. After attending only a few days of classes as a freshman—having enrolled after the academic year began—he left his second-period class and entered a bathroom to prepare the weapon. Gray then emerged and opened fire in a classroom and hallway before laying down his weapon and surrendering when confronted by officers. School officials and resource officers initially attempted to intercept him but confused him with another student named Kolton Gray.

Investigators later found that Gray had left a notebook in his classroom containing step-by-step instructions and a diagram for the assault. The notebook included an estimate that he could kill as many as 26 people and wound up to 13 others. Police also discovered a montage of photos of Nikolas Cruz, the perpetrator of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre, in Gray’s bedroom, where he had created a shrine to the Parkland shooter.

Gray is charged as an adult with 55 total counts, including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, cruelty to children, and aggravated battery. He faces up to 180 years in prison. A non-negotiated plea means the state and defense have not reached an agreement on a sentence, leaving the determination entirely to the judge. Gray has remained in custody at a juvenile detention center since his arrest and was 16 years old at the time of the July 2026 court filing.

His father, Colin Gray, was convicted by a jury in March 2026 on all 27 charges against him, including two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, 18 counts of cruelty to children, and five counts of reckless conduct. The jury deliberated for less than two hours before delivering the verdict. Colin Gray is set to be sentenced later in July 2026. He admitted to giving his son the rifle used in the shooting and stated in court that he did so in hopes of bonding with him through hunting and shooting at a gun range.

Prosecutors argued that Colin Gray exhibited criminal negligence by purchasing an AR-15 rifle for his son as a Christmas gift and leaving it unsecured. His defense team countered that he was unaware of his son’s violent plans and had taken steps to seek mental health help for him. Colin Gray was the first adult charged in connection with a school shooting in Georgia, and his prosecution marked the third time a parent has been charged in relation to a mass shooting allegedly carried out by their child.

Background details show that family members had sought psychological help for Colt Gray before the shooting, but he never saw a counselor. His mother, Marcee Gray, testified that he was riddled with anxiety, easily agitated, and suffered panic attacks. She also reported that he repeatedly damaged their home, breaking TVs and cutting slits into furniture. Marcee Gray and Colin Gray were separated at the time of the shooting, and weeks prior, she had argued with Colin, urging him to secure his firearms and restrict Colt’s access. Colin had purchased ammunition, a gun sight, and other shooting accessories for his son over time.

Colt Gray’s educational history was marked by instability: he skipped 8th grade entirely and missed the whole academic year. He enrolled as a freshman at Apalachee High School after the school year had already started and skipped multiple days before the shooting. The Department of Family and Children Services had repeatedly investigated the Gray family due to Colt’s behavioral issues and chronic absenteeism. In May 2023, both Colt and his father were interviewed by sheriff’s deputies about an online threat linked to Colt; he denied making the threat at that time.

Why It Matters

The upcoming hearing represents a critical juncture in a case that has drawn national attention due to the severity of the attack, the young age of the perpetrator, and the unprecedented conviction of his father on murder-related charges. Barrow County, where the hearing will be held, is located in east-central Georgia and includes the city of Winder, where Apalachee High School is situated. The non-negotiated nature of the plea ensures that the sentencing decision will rest solely with the judge, potentially setting a precedent for how juvenile-perpetrated mass shootings are adjudicated when tried in adult court.