A school shooter who admitted to killing four people at his high school was seen laughing in court as one of his surviving victims described the life-changing injuries she suffered in the attack.
Colt Gray, now 16, pleaded guilty on Friday (July 24) to murdering four people and injuring nine others during the mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County on September 4, 2024.
Colt Gray, now 16, pleaded guilty on Friday. Credit: Barrow County Sheriff’s Office/Handout
Gray was just 14 years old when he entered his algebra classroom with a rifle and fired around 15 shots.
Students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, were tragically killed, along with teachers Cristina Irimie, 52, and Richard Aspinwall, 39.
He now faces a minimum sentence of life in prison after pleading guilty to 55 felony charges.
Survivor opens up about lasting trauma
During the sentencing hearing, survivor Natalie Griffith gave a victim impact statement describing how the shooting continues to affect her every day.
The young woman, who was among the nine people wounded in the attack, became emotional as she recalled what happened in court.
At one point, she appeared overwhelmed and began speaking more quickly before the judge encouraged her to slow down.
“I’m sorry,” Griffith replied.
As the exchange unfolded, Gray was seen grinning and laughing while seated between his defence attorneys.
The courtroom also briefly laughed before Griffith continued her statement.
“I got shot twice, once in my wrist and once in my upper arm,” she said. “I lost the ability to use my left hand, but on some days it doesn’t feel like that is the biggest thing I lost.”
“After the shooting, I lost my independence. I could not put on my own clothes or do my own hair, things that were easy for me became a challenge.”
She also described how the trauma continues to shape her daily life.
“My mind immediately goes to the worst possible scenario,” she continued. “I wonder if there’s a gun. I wonder if I need to run. I’m so very afraid of loud sounds. And I start to panic when I hear them.”
“Some days when I think about the shooting it feels like he killed me even though I lived. The part of me that trusted people died,” she added.
Victim’s mother: ‘I do not forgive’
The court also heard from Breanna Schermerhorn, whose 14-year-old son Mason was killed in the attack.
“I do not forgive, Mr. Gray,” she told the court. “He took away every birthday we would have celebrated, every holiday, every graduation, every milestone, every hug.”
Obsession with Parkland shooter revealed
Jurors were also shown an interview Gray gave investigators shortly after the shooting, in which he admitted becoming fixated on Nikolas Cruz, who carried out the 2018 Parkland school shooting.
“I became obsessed with him on an emotional level because I understood some of the stuff he came through,” Gray said. “He shot up his school, but on an emotional level I could understand the trauma and stuff that he went through.”
Gray also revealed that around a week and a half before the shooting, he created a Securus messaging account in an attempt to contact Cruz.
He said he introduced himself before sending a second message in hopes of getting a reply, but Cruz never responded.
Gray admitted becoming fixated on Nikolas Cruz, who carried out the 2018 Parkland school shooting. Credit: Taimy Alvarez-Pool/Getty
Father’s role in the shooting
Gray’s father, Colin Gray, was also prosecuted over the shooting after police said he ignored several warning signs and gave his son the AR-15-style rifle used in the attack as a Christmas gift.
Prosecutors said the 55-year-old had even boasted about his son’s shooting abilities before the tragedy.
“We do a lot of shooting, we do a lot of deer hunting,” Colin was heard saying in an audio recording. “He actually shot his first deer this year.”
Earlier this year, a jury found the father guilty of 29 charges tied to the shooting, making him one of the first times a parent has been charged for their child’s crimes and school shooting violence.
Prosecutors had argued Colin was “the one person who could have prevented” the tragedy and that he knew his son “was a bomb just waiting to go off” when he gave him the firearm, per BBC News.
