WINDER, GEORGIA — Colt Gray pleaded guilty to all 55 criminal charges against him in connection with the Apalachee High School shooting. The 16-year-old entered a non-negotiated plea agreement, meaning there was no pre-arranged sentence deal with prosecutors.

Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm presided over the July 24, 2026, plea hearing. Gray appeared in court with shackles around his ankles and told the judge the decision to plead guilty was based on his own free will. He also stated he understood the consequences of his plea, including forfeiting his rights to a jury trial and appeal.

The charges include four counts of murder, 25 counts of aggravated assault, malice murder, weapons violations, and cruelty to children. Gray faces a minimum sentence of life in prison and a maximum of life without parole. Judge Primm will decide whether Gray is eligible for parole after hearing victim statements and evidence.

Four people were killed in the shooting on September 4, 2024: students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, and teachers Richard Aspinwall and Cristina Irimie. Aspinwall was 39 years old at the time of his death, and Irimie was 53. Schermerhorn and Angulo were both 14.

Nine other people were wounded in the attack, which occurred at Apalachee High School, a school near Winder, Georgia. The shooting is the deadliest act of school violence in the history of the state.

Christian Angulo died while trying to shut the classroom door to save other students. Teacher David Phenix was shot and survived, and teacher Valerie Lancaster rendered aid to him after he was shot. Three other students were shot but survived, shrapnel hit two other students, and at least 10 more students in the classroom where Gray opened fire survived.

Breanna Schermerhorn, mother of victim Mason Schermerhorn, told the court she does not forgive Gray. "I do not forgive, Mr Gray," Schermerhorn stated. "He took away every birthday we would have celebrated, every holiday, every graduation, every milestone, every hug." She added that Mason deserved a future and that Gray took that from everyone who loved him.

Gray told the judge he suffered from mental health issues for which he was taking medication. Prosecutors indicated they intend to show surveillance video, crime scene photos, 911 calls, and Gray's school, medical, and social media records.

Barrow County Sheriff's Office investigator Jason Smith testified about evidence found on Gray's cellphone and in a notebook. Smith read from the notebook, which stated, "Shoot the teacher first the students next." Investigators found the notebook in Gray's classroom with step-by-step instructions and a diagram for the assault. It included an estimate that Gray could kill as many as 26 people and wound as many as 13 others.

Prosecutors played an audio recording of Gray speaking to Smith minutes after the shooting. In the recording, Gray admitted to shooting people in a classroom and hallway. When asked if he had been thinking about the shooting for a while, Gray responded, "Yes. It's been years." When asked if he walked aimlessly shooting, he replied, "Pretty much." Gray had carried the rifle onto the school bus with the barrel wrapped in poster board.

He later left his second-period class and emerged from a bathroom with the rifle before opening fire. Investigators also found a shrine in Gray's bedroom to Nikolas Cruz, the shooter in the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre.

Gray was 14 years old at the time of the shooting. He skipped eighth grade and enrolled as a freshman at Apalachee High School after the academic year had begun. The school has approximately 1,900 students.

Gray had a spotty attendance record. Sheriff's deputies interviewed Gray and his father, Colin, in May 2023 about an online threat linked to the son. Gray denied making the threat during that interview. He surrendered to school resource officers at the scene and has remained in custody since. A Barrow County Grand Jury indicted Gray on the 55 crimes in October 2024. The trial had been scheduled to start in mid-October in Columbia County after Judge Primm ordered the venue change due to extensive media coverage in Barrow County.