Colt Gray, the 14-year-old charged in the deadly Apalachee High School shooting last month, pleaded not guilty and waived his right to an arraignment hearing.
Gray was arrested and charged last month with four counts of felony murder for allegedly shooting and killing two students and two teachers on Sept. 4 in Winder, Georgia. Last Thursday, a Barrow County grand jury indicted Gray on dozens of charges, including 18 counts of cruelty to children in the first degree and 25 counts of aggravated assault.
He is now accused of malice murder, which requires forethought, as well as felony murder.
Prosecutors sought charges for everyone who was shot at, including the nine people who were injured in the shooting, more than a dozen others fired upon but uninjured, and the four people who were killed.
Gray had an arraignment hearing scheduled for next month but waived it and entered his written plea of not guilty. Upon delivering the plea, Gray’s legal representative, Alfonso Kraft Jr., said his client “demands a jury trial.”
Colin Gray, Colt Gray’s father, was also arrested last month on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges. He was indicted by the Barrow County grand jury on 29 counts, including 20 counts of cruelty to children in the second degree.
Colin Gray was also charged with four counts of reckless conduct as prosecutors have accused the father of allowing his son to have access to the AR-style rifle used in the shooting despite knowing his son was a “threat” to himself and others. The elder Gray gave the gun to his son as a Christmas gift.
Colin Gray has yet to offer a plea, but he is scheduled for a Nov. 21 arraignment hearing.
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Colt Gray’s plea comes more than a month after he allegedly brought the rifle in his backpack to Apalachee High School and opened fire on students and staff after leaving his second-period algebra class. Gray was detained at the scene and is being held at a Gainesville, Georgia, juvenile facility despite officials revealing they plan to prosecute him as an adult. If he is convicted, he faces life in prison.
The elder Gray faces up to 180 years in prison if he is convicted. He is the first parent of an alleged school shooter to be charged with murder.