Colt Gray, the teenager accused of killing two students and two teachers during a 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, is scheduled to appear in court on July 24 for a non-negotiated plea hearing, according to court documents filed on Friday in Barrow County Superior Court.
Plea hearing details
The 16-year-old Gray, who had previously pleaded not guilty to 55 criminal counts including malice murder, aggravated battery, and aggravated assault, is expected to change his plea at the hearing. The court has scheduled both plea and sentencing proceedings for that date. Gray was 14 at the time of the shooting and has been held in a juvenile detention center since his arrest.
A non-negotiated plea differs from a negotiated plea deal: the defendant pleads guilty without an agreed-upon sentence, leaving the sentencing decision entirely to the judge after hearing case summaries and recommendations from both sides. Prosecutors and the defense have not reached a consensus on a sentence. The judge had set a July 15 deadline for Gray to notify the court and prosecutors if he intended to plead guilty before trial.
Charges and potential penalties
Gray faces 55 counts, including second-degree murder, which alone carries a potential sentence of up to 30 years per count. Overall, he could face as much as 180 years in prison. The charges also include aggravated battery and aggravated assault.
Father's conviction
Colin Gray, the teenager's father, was found guilty in March 2025 of second-degree murder in connection with the shooting. His prosecution marked the third instance in the U.S. where a parent faced criminal charges for a mass shooting carried out by their child, and the first such case in Georgia. Prosecutors argued that Colin Gray acted with criminal negligence by allowing his son access to a firearm and ammunition after receiving warnings that his son might harm others. They also cited multiple violent incidents involving Colt Gray over several years.
Colin Gray admitted giving his son the rifle used in the attack, stating in court that he hoped to strengthen their relationship through hunting and trips to the shooting range.
The shooting
According to investigators, on September 4, 2024, Gray brought a semiautomatic assault-style rifle onto a school bus, with the barrel protruding from a book bag wrapped in poster board. He later left his second-period class, emerged from a bathroom carrying the rifle, and opened fire in a classroom and throughout the school's hallways. The victims were identified as Richard Aspinwall, 39; Christina Irimie, 53; and 14-year-olds Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo. A teacher and eight other students were wounded. The incident qualifies as both a mass murder and a mass shooting under definitions from the Gun Violence Archive, which defines mass murder as four or more people killed and mass shooting as four or more victims wounded or shot.
Broader context
The United States continues to report high numbers of such incidents, including at schools, prompting calls for more substantial federal gun control. However, Congress has not implemented such restrictions in recent years.
