Teen and Father Charged With Georgia School Shooting Appear in Court

The father was arrested on Thursday in connection with the killings of two teachers and two students, which his 14-year-old son is accused of carrying out with a military-style rifle.

A father and son arrested after Georgia’s deadliest school shooting made their first court appearances half an hour apart on Friday morning, sitting at the same defense table in the same courtroom as a list of grim charges against them were read.

The father, appearing distraught, rocked back and forth in a chair throughout his brief appearance. Family members of those killed in the shooting lined the first row of the courtroom and spilled into the second. They sat quietly, with some wiping their eyes.

The 14-year-old accused of slaying two students and two teachers on Wednesday morning at Apalachee High School, where he was a freshman, faces four counts of felony murder. If convicted, he could serve life in prison, with or without parole.

His father, Colin Gray, 54, who faces murder and manslaughter charges, is accused of allowing his son to have access to the military-style rifle used in the shooting despite knowing “he was a threat to himself and others,” according to arrest warrants.

The gun, a black AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, was a Christmas present to the boy, Colt Gray, from his father in 2023, according to three law enforcement officials.

Father and son were both represented by public defenders, and neither entered a plea or requested bond. Preliminary hearings for both were set for Dec. 4.