Colt Gray pleads guilty in Apalachee school shooting case
Colt Gray, the Georgia teen accused in the 2024 Apalachee High School shooting, pleaded guilty Friday to all 55 charges, including four counts of murder. The non-negotiated plea means prosecutors offered no deal. Victims are delivering impact statements, and a life sentence is expected next week.
The hearing unfolded Friday at the Barrow County Courthouse in Winder, Georgia, where CNN reported Gray, now 16, admitted guilt after previously pleading not guilty.
Key Takeaways
- Colt Gray pleaded guilty to all 55 felony counts, including four murder charges, without a deal from prosecutors.
- The Sept. 4, 2024, shooting at Apalachee High School killed two students and two teachers and wounded nine others.
- Victim impact statements began Friday; sentencing is expected next week, with life with or without parole as the options.
- His father, Colin Gray, was convicted earlier this year of murder and manslaughter for providing the rifle.
What happened at Apalachee High School?
On Sept. 4, 2024, Colt Gray, then 14, opened fire at Apalachee High School in Winder, about 45 miles northeast of Atlanta. Authorities say he killed students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall and Cristina Irimie.
Nine others were injured in what CNN described as the worst mass shooting in Georgia history. Gray surrendered and confessed, according to authorities. More coverage of cases like this lives in our True Crime & Unsolved Mysteries hub.
What does Colt Gray's guilty plea mean?
Gray entered a non-negotiated guilty plea to the entire indictment Friday before Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm. Prosecutors did not agree to anything in exchange for the plea.
Spectrum News reports his trial had been set for mid-October in Columbia County after a change of venue. The guilty plea avoids that trial and moves the case into sentencing arguments and victim testimony.
District Attorney Brad Smith read the charges aloud, naming those killed and harmed. Families filled the gallery, including relatives wearing red shirts honoring Mason Schermerhorn.
Will Colt Gray get life in prison?
Georgia law limits the judge to life with the possibility of parole or life without parole for murder. The death penalty is barred because Gray was under 18 when the crimes occurred.
Mason Schermerhorn's mother, Breanna Schermerhorn, told the court she has lived 688 days of a sentence with no parole and said that is what he should receive. Sisters of Mason also addressed Gray directly during impact statements. He may speak before the judge rules, expected next week.
What happened to Colt Gray's father?
Colin Gray was convicted in March 2026 of murder and manslaughter after a jury found he bought his son an AR-15-style rifle and failed to secure it despite knowing he was a risk. He is scheduled to be sentenced next week as well.