Teen Pleads In School Shooting That Killed 4 At Apalachee High: Report

WINDER, GA — The teenager accused in a mass shooting that killed four people at a Georgia high school has pled guilty to 55 counts against him, including murder, the Associated Press reported Friday.

Colt Gray, 16, entered the plea Friday without having reached a deal with prosecutors. He had previously pleaded not guilty to charges in the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting that killed two students and two teachers, and left nine others wounded at Apalachee High School in Barrow County.

Before accepting the plea, Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm asked Gray a series of questions meant to ensure that the teenager was aware of the consequences of his plea and was entering it voluntarily. To each question, Gray responded, “Yes, your honor.”

Because he pleaded guilty to murder, Gray faces a minimum sentence of life in prison. The judge must decide whether he should be eligible for parole.

Once the plea was entered, victim family members began testifying about their loved ones and the losses they experienced as a result of the shooting. The judge plans to hear each side’s summary of the case, evidence and sentencing recommendation before deciding the sentence.

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Gray’s trial had been scheduled to start in mid-October in Columbia County, about 100 miles from where the shooting happened, after the judge agreed to a defense request for a change of venue.

The deadly shooting claimed the lives of two 14-year-old students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, and teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53.

Another teacher and eight more students were injured; seven of them hit by gunfire.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation previously said Gray, who was 14-years-old at the time, hid the rifle in his backpack and carried it onto a school bus the morning of the shooting.

According to investigator testimony, the rifle was wrapped in a poster board with the barrel poking out of the backpack, the Associated Press previously reported.

The GBI previously said Gray asked to go to the front office, but he instead went to the restroom and hid from teachers. He later retrieved the rifle and started shooting, the GBI said.

Gray was charged as an adult with the 55 total counts, including murder in the four deaths and 25 counts of aggravated assault.

Investigators have said Gray carefully plotted the shooting at the high school of 1,900 students. A GBI agent testified that the teen left a notebook in his classroom with step-by-step instructions and a diagram to prepare for the assault, including an estimate that he could kill as many as 26 people and wound as many as 13 others.

His defense attorney wrote in a court filing that he plans to call a psychologist, a counselor at the juvenile detention center where he has been held and his grandmother to testify.

Prosecutors have indicated in court filings that during sentencing they intend to call teenage victims and witnesses to testify and to show surveillance video and crime scene photos during Friday’s hearing. They have also noted that they may introduce a slew of records, including 911 calls and Gray’s school, medical and social media records.

Investigators found a shrine in Gray's bedroom to Nikolas Cruz, the shooter in the 2018 massacre at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, prosecutors said.

RELATED: Deadly GA School Shooting: Verdict Reached For Dad Of Accused Gunman

A jury in March convicted his father on charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors said the elder Gray, who is scheduled to be sentenced next week, gave his son the assault-style rifle used to open fire at the school.

In the past, news outlets reported Colin Gray, the teen's father, gave his son the rifle as a Christmas gift.

Testimony revealed he also bought his son "a tactical vest and ammunition" though he knew Colt Gray allegedly battled anger and anxiety, CNN reported in the past.

Colt Gray's mother, Marcee Gray, who was separated from Colin Gray, told investigators she had urged him weeks before the shooting to secure his guns and restrict their son’s access to them. Instead, over time, Colin Gray bought the boy ammunition, a gun sight and other shooting accessories, records show.

Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith at a past news conference called the shooting "evil."

“This hits home for me, I was born and raised here, I went to this school system, my kids go to this school system," Smith said in the past. "My heart hurts for these kids. I want to make it very clear that hate will not prevail in this county. Love will prevail over what happened today. I assure you of that.”

State and federal leaders used the shooting to urge for more gun control, calling recent school shootings "senseless" and declaring "enough is enough."

Then-President Joe Biden advocated for congressional Republicans and Democrats to unite to pass gun safety legislation that banned assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, required safe storage of firearms, enacted universal background checks and ended immunity for gun manufacturers.

Authorities have not indicated a motive in the fatal shooting.

The Associated Press contributed reporting and writing.

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