A court in the US state of Georgia has sentenced the father of a teenager responsible for a deadly school shooting to 15 years in prison after finding him criminally liable for failing to prevent the tragedy.
Fifty-five-year-old Colin Gray was convicted earlier this year on multiple offences, including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, in connection with the 2024 attack at Apalachee High School in Winder, where four people lost their lives.
The sentence follows the guilty plea entered last week by his 16-year-old son, Colt Gray, who admitted carrying out the killings.
Authorities said the firearm used during the attack had been purchased for the teenager by his father as a Christmas present.
Delivering judgment, Judge Nicholas Primm ruled that Gray would serve concurrent prison terms of 15 years for each murder conviction and 10 years for each manslaughter count, resulting in an effective prison sentence of 15 years.
During sentencing, the judge criticised Gray for neglecting repeated warning signs about his son’s behaviour, including failing to arrange mental health treatment, monitor his online activities and properly secure firearms kept at home.
While stressing that Gray neither carried out the attack nor intended to cause harm, the court concluded that his actions and inaction significantly contributed to the events leading to the massacre.
The shooting claimed the lives of students Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn, both aged 14, along with teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53.
Prosecutors had sought an 80-year prison sentence, arguing that the father ignored numerous indicators that his son posed a serious danger.
Evidence presented during the trial included allegations that the teenager had previously been investigated over online school shooting threats and had written plans describing an attack on classmates and teachers.
Assistant District Attorney Patricia Brooks argued that despite clear signs of escalating violent behaviour, Gray armed his son instead of taking steps to protect the public.
The defence maintained that responsibility rested solely with the teenager, insisting he independently planned and executed the attack without his father’s knowledge.
The case marks only the third known instance in the United States where a parent has been convicted over a mass shooting committed by their child.
Similar prosecutions gained national attention after the parents of a Michigan school shooter were sentenced in 2024 for providing their son with the weapon used in an attack that killed four students.
By: Magdalene Agyeiwaa Sarpong