The father of the Apalachee High School shooter was sentenced to 15 years in prison on July 30.
Colin Gray gave his son the gun he used to kill four people—two students and two teachers—on Sept. 4, 2024, in rural Barrow County in Georgia, located 45 miles east of Atlanta.
The gun, which came with ammunition, was supposed to be a Christmas gift, but instead the teen took the rifle to school in his backpack and opened fire, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors added that Gray was warned in May 2023 about his teenager’s dangerous mental state after the FBI received tips about online school-shooting threats, which were linked to his child.
Both convicted criminals shared the same judge, Nicholas Primm, who said Gray’s negligence was “tethered to the tragedy committed by his son.”
“My heart aches for everyone that was there that day, for all of you that have been impacted by it,” Primm said. “But the law requires that I set aside emotion. I don’t get to sentence with passion. I have the nearly impossible task of sentencing you without passion despite the immeasurable heartache that you caused.”
Teachers Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, were killed by Gray during the shooting.
Eight additional students and one teacher were hurt.
Family members of the victims condemned Gray’s actions as a parent that contributed to the fatal shooting.
“This was preventable,” said Breanna Schermerhorn, whose son was killed in the shooting. “Because of the choices made inside the Gray household, four families were handed life sentences of grief.”
Shayna Aspinwall, whose husband was killed, added that even though Gray did not pull the trigger himself, he “purchased and left a firearm accessible to a minor,” which will cause families to “carry the grief and trauma” for the rest of their lives.
