Colt Gray, the 16-year-old charged in the September 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia, is scheduled to appear in court on July 24 for a non-negotiated plea and sentencing hearing, according to court documents released Friday. The hearing is expected to continue into the following week.
The non-negotiated plea indicates that Gray intends to change his previous not guilty plea and admit guilt to the charges. In a non-negotiated plea, the defendant enters a guilty plea without a deal between prosecutors and the defense, meaning the judge will determine the sentence without a binding agreement on punishment between the parties. During the hearing, both the prosecution and defense will present arguments and recommendations to the judge, who has sole authority to decide the penalty.
Gray, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, faces 55 counts including four counts of felony murder, four counts of malice murder, four counts of aggravated battery, 25 counts of aggravated assault and 18 counts of first-degree cruelty to children. He faces up to 30 years in prison for the second-degree murder charges and up to 180 years in total across all counts.
On September 4, 2024, Gray carried an assault-style rifle onto a school bus hidden in his backpack and brought the weapon to Apalachee High School in Winder, Barrow County, located about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta. During an Algebra 1 class, he asked to leave the classroom and go to the front office. Once he left, he went to a bathroom, retrieved the rifle, and opened fire in a classroom and hallway. He surrendered immediately when confronted by law enforcement officers.
The shooting killed two students and two teachers. The victims were identified as 14-year-old Mason Schermerhorn and 14-year-old Christian Angulo, along with math teachers Richard Aspinwall and Cristina Irimie. Nine others were injured, including eight students and one teacher. The shooting marked the deadliest school shooting in Georgia’s history.
Gray’s attorneys indicated in late 2025 that he was negotiating a plea deal. A judge subsequently set a deadline for Gray to notify the court of his intentions. That deadline prompted the July 24 hearing, which comes just days before the court-ordered change of venue was set to take effect. The trial had been tentatively scheduled for October in Columbia County after a judge granted a defense request to move the proceedings out of Barrow County, citing concerns about jury impartiality.
Gray has remained in custody at a juvenile detention center since his arrest in September 2024. He was charged as an adult due to the severity of the alleged crimes.
The case gained additional significance when Gray’s father, Colin Gray, was arrested and prosecuted in connection with the shooting. The elder Gray was convicted in March on 27 felony counts, including second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, cruelty to children and reckless conduct. Prosecutors argued that Colin Gray purchased an AR-15-style rifle as a Christmas gift for his son in December 2023 and left the weapon unsecured, despite multiple warning signs about Colt Gray’s mental health struggles and violent behavior.
During Colin Gray’s trial, testimony revealed that he had ignored numerous red flags about his son’s behavior. Family members had been seeking psychological help for Colt Gray before the shooting, but investigators found that he never saw a counselor. His mother had argued with Colin Gray weeks before the incident, asking him to secure his guns and restrict Colt’s access to them. Instead, prosecutors said, Colin Gray bought his son ammunition, gun sights and other shooting accessories.
A jury deliberated for less than two hours before convicting Colin Gray on all charges. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 28 and 29, just days after Colt Gray’s plea and sentencing hearing. Colin Gray’s prosecution marked a historic moment, as he was the first adult charged in connection with a school shooting in Georgia and the third parent nationally charged for their connection to a mass shooting carried out by their child.