Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray appeared in Barrow County Superior Court on Friday following this week’s mass shooting.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation initially said that Gray had been “charged with 4 counts of felony murder in connection to the shooting” at Apalachee High School in Barrow County.
“I want to make you aware that the maximum penalty for felony murder. So for each count, the maximum penalty is that you could be punishable by death, by imprisonment for life without parole or by imprisonment for life, with the possibility of parole,” Judge Currie Mingledorff II told Gray.
The judge quickly walked back that statement, announcing that the maximum penalty for Gray does not include the death penalty.
Mingledorff also said at this point, there is no bond being requested for Gray.
Gray did not enter a plea during the appearance.
An attorney representing Gray also told the judge “there was a development yesterday afternoon that makes it necessary for our office to have alternate counsel appointed, and arrangements have already been made in that regard.”
“I’ve already explained that to Mr. Gray. Alternate counsel will be appointed by the end of the day today,” she added.
The suspect’s father, Colin Gray, is set to appear in court at 9:30AM.
Colin Gray was arrested Wednesday and charged with two counts of second-degree murder, four counts of involuntary manslaughter and eight counts of cruelty to children, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).
While investigators provided few details about the father’s alleged role in the shooting, they acknowledged that the sheriff’s office visited the family home in Jefferson, Georgia, in May 2023 to respond to reports that the then-13-year-old allegedly made threats to shoot up the local public middle school on the social media app Discord. Colin Gray said that his son “had some problems” at his previous middle school but that it had “gotten a lot better” since he changed schools.
The father also told investigators during that visit that he had hunting rifles in the house, adding, “Colt is allowed to use them when supervised but does not have unfettered access to them.” In addition, the teen denied making mass shooting threats on Discord, saying he “had never made any comments about shooting up a school or heard anyone talking about it.”
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