(CNN) 鈥 Colin Gray, the father of , was found guilty of murder and manslaughter charges Tuesday in a case testing the limits of who is responsible for a mass shooting.
The jury deliberated for less than two hours before convicting him on all 27 charges: Two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, 18 counts of cruelty to children and five counts of reckless conduct.
At the defense table, Colin Gray did not visibly react to the verdict. He was taken from the courtroom in handcuffs. He faces 10 to 30 years in prison on each murder charge and 1 to 10 years on each manslaughter charge.
Prosecutors accused Gray of buying his son an AR-15-style rifle as a Christmas present and allowing him access to that weapon and ammunition despite warnings that his son was a danger to others. Colt Gray, then 14, used that rifle to carry out a mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on September 4, 2024, and wounding nine others.
鈥淭hat man and his son are both responsible for the immense suffering that occurred on September 4,鈥 prosecutor Patricia Brooks said in closing arguments. 鈥淭he blood is on their hands.鈥
Colin Gray鈥檚 defense, though, argued he did not know about his son鈥檚 violent plans and had taken steps to get him help for his mental health troubles.
The indictment alleged his actions constituted 鈥渃riminal negligence鈥 by 鈥渃onsciously disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk.鈥
The trial was part of a broader push to hold more people accountable for a school shooting, including the shooter鈥檚 and . This case bore close similarities to the trials of , whose then-15-year-old son killed four students in 2021 at his high school in Oxford, Michigan. They were each convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to .
Speaking after the verdict, Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith noted the Crumbley cases set a precedent and said he hoped this verdict 鈥渕oves the needle a little further.鈥 And he pushed back on concerns that Colin Gray was being punished for his child鈥檚 actions.
鈥淭his was a trial about this defendant鈥檚 actions, his choices and his responsibility,鈥 Smith said.
Colt Gray has , according to authorities. Now 16, he has pleaded not guilty to , including four counts of malice murder. A trial date has not been set.
What happened at the trial
The state presented its case over about two weeks, including who survived the shooting, with Colin Gray, in a bedroom closet, and testimony from the teen鈥檚 , grandmother and sister about Colt鈥檚 spiraling mental health.
Marcee Gray, the defendant鈥檚 estranged wife who struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, testified their son was riddled with anxiety, easily agitated and had panic attacks. She said it was 鈥渧ery obvious鈥 he needed professional help, but her husband 鈥渏ust didn鈥檛 want to deal with it.鈥
Notably, the jury saw from May 21, 2023, when deputies with the Jackson County Sheriff鈥檚 Office visited Colt and Colin Gray鈥檚 home after receiving an FBI tip about an . Colt denied posting the threat, and law enforcement was ultimately not able to substantiate the tip. Colin Gray bought his son the AR-15-style rifle later that year.
The defense called just one witness: . He testified he bought his son the firearm and ammunition in an attempt to get him interested in the outdoors and for father-son bonding. He also said he had scheduled counseling at school for Colt鈥檚 mental health issues and did not ever perceive his son as a threat.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a good kid,鈥 the father said through tears. 鈥淗e wasn鈥檛 perfect, nor was I, but to do something that heinous, I don鈥檛 know that anybody can see that kind of evil. The Colt I knew, the relationship I had, there was this whole other side of Colt I didn鈥檛 know existed.鈥
Yet in a tense cross-examination, he acknowledged multiple firearms were stored in a closet, unsecured and unlocked, and he said Colt sometimes kept the AR-15-style rifle in his bedroom. He struggled to explain Colt鈥檚 lack of school attendance throughout his entire eighth grade school year, per school records.
And he admitted he was aware that his son had been physically violent, had a photo of a school shooter posted on his bedroom wall and had texted a few weeks before the attack, 鈥淲henever something happens, just know the blood is on your hands.鈥
Finally, the jury watched harrowing surveillance video showing Colt Gray鈥檚 movements the morning of the school shooting on September 4, 2024. School officials and resource officers had gone to intercept Colt Gray after he made several concerning comments that morning, but in a , they confused him with another student named Kolton Gray.
Colt Gray then armed himself with the rifle 鈥 which he had brought to school hidden in his backpack 鈥 fired indiscriminately into a math class and shot several people in the hallway. Teachers Richard Aspinwall and Cristina Irimie and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo were killed.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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