US: Father bought son a rifle for Christmas, sentenced to 15 years for school massacre

A Georgia court sentenced Colin Gray to 15 years in prison for the 2024 school shooting committed by his son Colt Gray at Apalachee High School. The father bought his son an AK-15 rifle as a Christmas gift despite signs of mental deterioration and an FBI visit. Gray was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

A Georgia court sentenced Colin Gray to 15 years in prison on Thursday for the 2024 school shooting committed by his son Colt Gray at Apalachee High School, where four people were killed. The father had provided the rifle and ammunition used in the attack as a Christmas gift. This is a rare case in the US where a parent was imprisoned for a school shooting committed by their child, and the first time a parent was convicted of murder. The shooting occurred on September 4, 2024: Colt Gray, then 14, boarded a school bus with an AK-15 rifle and opened fire in a hallway and classroom, killing two students and two teachers, and wounding another teacher and eight students. The teen pleaded guilty to 55 charges and was sentenced to life without parole. The investigation revealed that the father bought the rifle in December 2023, six months after an FBI visit to their home following an online threat to carry out a shooting. Relatives testified about the son's deteriorating mental state, but the father did not address it. The rifle was stored in the teen's bedroom. Prosecutors sought 80 years, but the court imposed 15.