The father of the 14-year-old boy who killed four people and wounded nine others with a semi-automatic rifle at a school in Georgia, US, could spend the rest of his life behind bars. Colin Gray54, was charged Friday with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree murder and cruelty to minors for allegedly allowing his son, foalaccess the weapon used in Wednesday’s massacre.
The judge charged him with 14 counts that could carry a possible sentence of 180 years in prisonif he is found guilty. If confirmed, this would be one of the sanctions Stronger against the father of a shooter in the United States.
Colin Gray appeared in the courtroom wearing a pair of trousers and a striped prison T-shirt. Visibly excited, I sobbed as I listened to the magistrate pronounce all the charges he is accused of. After hearing the possible prison sentence he could receive, the man leaned back and forth with a certain nervousness and a lost look.
Neither the son nor the father have asked for bail. They have also not filed any allegations. Colt was charged Friday with four counts of murder and will not face prosecution. death penalty for being under 18, although he was eligible for life in prison without parole.
The boy’s father was arrested Thursday, just 36 hours after his son was shot, on charges that he gave him a gun, knowing that “he posed a threat to himself and others,” according to the police arrest warrant. Investigators say he allowed the boy to have the gun in his possession.
“The charges against him are directly related to the actions of his son,” Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said at a news conference after the arrest.
Previous danger signs
According to investigators, there were warning signs before the massacre occurred in the area. Apalachee InstituteThe Georgia FBI investigated the boy for allegedly threatening to carry out a school shooting online and he was interviewed along with his father. The boy denied making the threats, however.
In the statements to Washington PostThe minor’s aunt said that in recent months, Colt had sought psychological help from his family.
She’s not the only family member speaking out. Ahead of Friday’s hearing, the boy’s grandfather, Charles Polhamusexpressed the wish that the father be charged with his grandson. “If I hadn’t had a damn gun, I wouldn’t have gone and killed anybody,” he lamented.
The attack triggered by young Gray ended the lives of the 14-year-old students Mason Schermerhorn And Christian angleas well as that of mathematics teachers Richard Aspinwall39 years old, and Cristina Irimie53.
Wednesday’s shooting was number 45 of those enrolled so far in 2024 in educational centers in the United States, according to a CNN count.
