Apalachee school shooting: Colin Gray, father of suspect Colt Gray, pleads not guilty

BARROW COUNTY, Ga. — The father of the accused Apalachee High School gunman pleaded not guilty to his charges during his arraignment hearing on Thursday.

Colin Gray, 54, is charged with 29 crimes including, second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, reckless conduct, and cruelty to children.

Colt Gray, 14, is charged with 55 crimes including, malice and felony murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and cruelty to children.

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Channel 2 Action News was inside the courtroom for Thursday’s hearing as Colin Gray’s attorneys announced he was waiving his formal arraignment and entering a not guilty plea.

Last month, his son also waived his arraignment and entered a not guilty plea.

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Barrow County investigators have testified about the details of what they have called Colt Gray’s plan to kill several people in the school. They detailed drawings he’d done, what they described as an “obsession” with school shooters, and even that he was trying to create a “school shooter outfit.”

Investigators say Colin Gray bought the weapon for his son as a Christmas gift just months after being investigated for a separate school shooting threat last year. They say he also bought his son ammunition, a larger magazine for his gun and a tactical vest.

At Colt Gray’s arraignment, GBI agents testified that the teen got the rifle into the school by disguising it as a school project.

“We determined that the rifle was protruding out of his book bag – and part of the rifle that was showing was concealed with a rolled-up poster board,” GBI Special Agent Lucas Beyer testified.

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