Georgia parent latest to be charged in connection to mass shooting
SAN FRANCISCO -- The parent of a teen suspected of shooting his classmates in Georgia is the latest to be charged in connection to a mass shooting.
Colt Gray, 14, and his father, Colin Gray, 54, remain in custody, after investigators say the teenager went on a shooting rampage at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, killing four people and injuring nine others.
The teenager faces felony murder charges. His father is facing charges as well, including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. The reason? Investigators believe he bought his son the AR-style rifle used in the shooting as a gift last year.
"I think putting more responsibility on parents for the actions of their children is absolutely necessary, especially when we see the red flags as we have in this case," said attorney Katie Charleston.
Charleston is pointing to an incident in May of 2023 when sheriff's deputies questioned the father and son as a part of an investigation into an FBI tip that linked the teenager to a school shooting threat.
"Really, what the prosecutors are looking at, is the involvement – or lack of involvement or knowledge – of what the children are doing and the parents' failure to make the home a safe enough place that the child can't get their hands on firearms," Charleston said. "I'm really interested to see more details about the failure of authorities and the family to intervene in this child's life who really seemed to be looking for help and had some issues that were unresolved. There seemed to have been red flags for at least a year. I think this is really a case of a failure of the system to identify a problem that could have been prevented in the beginning."
There is new legal precedent for these types of scenarios now in play. Earlier this year, Jennifer and James Crumbley became the first parents convicted after a school shooting. In 2021. Their son killed four students at a Michigan school.
"I think, historically, it probably was always something considered by prosecutors. But I think the Crumbley case moving forward as it did will give prosecutors and authorities more confidence in seeking this type of responsibility of the parents of children involved in these types of crimes," Charleston said.