Lawyers for Colin Gray, the father of suspected Georgia school shooter Colt Gray, have asked for special jail protections amid an “incalculable number of threats” from other inmates.
Colin, 54, was last week charged with suspicion of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children. He was arrested one day after his 14-year-old son was accused of killing four people during a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., about an hour’s drive from Atlanta.
Investigators allege Colin “knowingly” allowed his son access to the military-style rifle used in the shooting.
On Wednesday, Colin’s lawyers asked a judge in the Barrow County Superior Court to separate their client from other inmates in jail.
Colin’s legal team said inmates have threatened “harm and violence” against him, and in some cases, death. The threats have been made thanks to widespread news and social media coverage of the shooting, they maintained.
“It is not an unreasonable statement to declare that nearly every member of this community has been touched and affected in some way by this event,” the motion reads, as obtained by Global News.
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“It is certain that those feelings of anger and retribution manifested in the collective psyche, of both the public and the community at large, are not also represented in the individuals currently incarcerated with the Defendant at the Barrow County Detention Center.”
Colin’s lawyers argued it would be “reckless” to assume there are no inmates who wish him harm.
Both Colin and his son are being held without bond.
If convicted on all counts, Colin could face a maximum prison sentence of 180 years.
The charges against Colin are the most severe ever imposed on the parent of a suspected school shooter in the U.S.
His son Colt has been accused of killing two students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and two teachers, Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53. Nine others were injured during the shooting.
Colt has been charged with four felony counts of murder and will be tried as an adult. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, with or without parole.
A potential motive is not clear.
Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith said Colt will face additional charges as the investigation continues.
Prior to Wednesday’s shooting, Colt was already on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s radar.
Investigators said that in 2023, they traced online threats about executing a school shooting to Colt, who denied the allegations. The posts, which authorities said were made to the platform Discord, contained photos of guns.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office interviewed the father and son, but determined there was no probable cause for arrest or additional law enforcement action. Officials could not definitively link the threats to the suspect, who was then 13.
At the time, Colin said his son did not have unsupervised access to hunting rifles that were stored in the home.
Family members of the father and son have spoken publicly and condemned the shooting, including Colt’s mother, who issued an open letter of apology to the victims’ families this week.
“To the parents and families of those affected by the tragic events at Apalachee High School, I want to say that I am so sorry from the bottom of my heart,” she wrote.
The mother said Colt is “not a monster” and described him as “quiet, thoughtful, caring, funny, and extremely intelligent.”
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