What we covered today
• Shooter pleads guilty: Colt Gray, now 16, pleaded guilty today to murder and other crimes in the 2024 shooting at his high school in Winder, Georgia, that left four people dead and nine injured.
• Victims speak out: Survivors who were shot and relatives of those who were killed delivered emotional victim impact statements describing how their lives have changed since the attack. Some addressed Colt directly, with one survivor telling him: “I hate everything about you.”
• What’s next: Prosecutors began presenting evidence Friday afternoon, including Colt’s notebooks outlining his plans and his statements to investigators. Prosecutors and defense attorneys will present further evidence Monday as the judge weighs a sentence of life with or without parole.
Our live coverage of Colt Gray’s guilty plea and sentencing has concluded for the day. Please scroll through the posts below for today’s developments.
Key moments from the courtroom: emotional statements, chilling admissions and new evidence
Colt Gray, the Georgia teenager who fatally shot two teachers and two students and wounded nine others at Apalachee High School in September 2024, pleaded guilty Friday to four counts of murder and dozens of other charges.
Colt, now 16, admitted bringing an AR-15-style rifle to school at age 14 and opening fire in a math classroom and hallway. The sentencing hearing then shifted to emotional victim impact statements and new evidence from investigators, including Colt’s notebooks and his initial interviews with police.
Here were some of the key moments:
- Mason Schermerhorn’s family delivers emotional statements: Mason’s mother, Breanna Schermerhorn, said she believes her son would have befriended Colt if he had attended school, adding she could acknowledge the teen “was failed” without excusing his actions. Mason’s sisters followed with powerful testimony. Alanna Schermerhorn-Wallace confronted Colt directly about watching her brother’s final moments on surveillance video, while oldest sister Lilianah Ahmed tearfully recalled the agonizing wait to learn whether Mason had survived.
- Survivor recalls learning to walk again: Taylor Jones, a ninth grader who was shot during the attack, described how she didn’t think she would survive and the long road to recovery that included multiple surgeries. Taylor had to learn how to walk again after being wounded. Other survivors spoke of panic attacks, nightmares and the lasting trauma they continue to carry nearly two years later.
- Victims and families describe lives forever changed: Jaxson Beaver’s mother described the permanent injuries he still lives with, saying metal fragments remain embedded in his thigh. Nautica Walton told Colt, “I hate everything about you.”
- Court hears Colt’s emotional police interview: The courtroom listened to hours of recordings from Colt’s interviews with investigators shortly after the shooting. Sobbing, he described briefly reconsidering the attack before opening fire, saying, “I had a moment in the bathroom of like I probably shouldn’t do this … the next thing I know I’m f***ing shooting in a classroom, dude.” He later cried as he described shooting a victim in the hallway.
- Colt is heard apologizing, describes mental health struggles: In the police interviews played in the courtroom, Colt repeatedly apologized, said he heard voices in his head, described paranoia that teachers were plotting against him, and told investigators he believed he should be placed in “a mental health unit” because “what I’ve done is beyond horrible.”
- Investigators reveal notebooks detailing shooting plan: Prosecutors introduced notebooks containing detailed plans for the attack, drawings of firearms and writings expressing both fear and determination. As his writings were read aloud, Colt remained expressionless, sometimes gently rocking and twisting in his chair.
- Message to his father: Jurors also heard audio of Colt’s arrest, during which he asked an officer to tell his father, “Tell him that it wasn’t his fault and that I know he tried his hardest.”
Colt Gray's mother: "My son and I are beyond sorry"
Marcee Gray, Colt Gray’s mother, apologized to the shooting victims’ families in a text message to CNN on Friday.
“My son and I are beyond sorry for the extreme pain that the victims have endured. If I could swap places with your precious babies I would so in a heartbeat. There is no pain in this world that could come close to losing a child and I fully understand that,” she said.
“I beg you to reach deep inside your hearts and find compassion for my son,” she added.
At the time of the September 2024 shooting, Marcee Gray did not have custody of Colt due to her struggles with drug and alcohol addiction.
Court is adjourned until Monday
Colt Gray’s sentencing hearing is over for the day and will return Monday at 9 a.m. ET.
What happened today: Colt, now 16, pleaded guilty to all the charges against him, including four counts of murder. Next, victims’ families and survivors spoke about the impact of the shooting. Finally, prosecutors presented new evidence, including Colt’s notebooks outlining his plans and his statements to investigators admitting to the shooting and apologizing.
What’s still to come: Prosecutors have further evidence to present and Colt’s defense attorneys plan to call witnesses to testify. Colt himself will have an opportunity to speak. Lastly, the judge will decide whether to sentence him to life with the possibility of parole or life without parole.
Colt Gray said he didn't know victim Richard Aspinwall
Investigators read aloud to Colt Gray the warrants for his arrest at the end of a lengthy police interview hours after the September 2024 shooting.
The investigator read the charge for the killing of Richard Aspinwall, the first of four felony murder counts.
“Do you know who that is?” the investigator asked.
“No, sir,” Colt said.
The officer further read the warrants connected to the murders of Christian Angulo, Mason Schermerhorn and Cristina Irimie.
Colt Gray told investigators he believed he belonged in a mental health unit
The courtroom heard another portion of Colt Gray’s interview with an investigator in which he was asked what he believed should happen to him after the shooting.
When an investigator asked, “What should happen to you?” Colt, who was 14 at the time, responded, “Honestly, I think I should be put in a mental health unit.”
Gray acknowledged the gravity of the attack, telling investigators, “What I’ve done is beyond horrible. I have no words even for what I’ve done, and it’s absolutely horrible that the parents have to go through the sh*t that I’ve caused unknowingly.”
He said that after the shooting ended, he was confused about his own actions, describing “shock and, you know, confusion as to why I did this.”
Gray went on to again say he believed he should be taken to a mental health facility. “For my safety and the safety of the people around me … until I can get on some sort of medication.”
Colt Gray says he made shooting threat for attention
Colt Gray admitted he wrote a threat to shoot up a school in an online true crime group a year before the Apalachee high school shooting.
“I knew I wasn’t going to do it. It was more of just I liked the attention,” he said.
He said the details were “foggy” but he was “extremely suicidal and depressed” and was echoing what he heard in the group chat.
The threat spurred Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputies to visit Colt and Colin Gray’s home on May 21, 2023. At the time, Colt denied posting the threat and law enforcement was ultimately unable to substantiate the accusation.
Despite hearing the accusation, Colin Gray purchased a firearm for his son as a Christmas gift later that year, according to testimony at his father’s murder trial.
Colt Gray says he made jail messaging account to message Nikolas Cruz
Colt Gray made an account on the jail messaging app Securus in order to send a message to Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz, he said in a videotaped interview with investigators.
In the message about a week and a half before the shooting, Colt introduced himself to Cruz and then followed up to get him to write him back, he said.
He falsely said he was 18 to use the app. Cruz did not respond to his message, he said.
Court shows Colt Gray's video interview with investigator
Colt Gray appeared calm and spoke with an even voice in a videotaped interview the night of the shooting, a sharp contrast to his distraught, sobbing statements to police immediately after the attack.
The video shows Colt with long bleach-blond hair and wearing a striped jail outfit. His hands and ankles were in shackles as he spoke to investigator Jason Smith about his personal life.
Colt said there were “red flags” that he thinks people missed, including his interest in the school shooter Nikolas Cruz and his medical treatment. He said he occasionally made subtle jokes such as, “I hope this mania doesn’t kick in and I use this gun.” He and his father had dark humor, but his father would become concerned when he joked like this.
Further, Colt said he was a “big gun nut” and spoke about his time at the shooting range.
Several members of the Schermerhorn and Angulo families have their heads down and appear weary.
Colt Gray's message to his father: "Tell him that it wasn’t his fault"
The courtroom heard the audio of Colt Gray’s arrest, including the moment an officer informed the then-14-year-old he was being taken into custody.
“I don’t know all of what you will be charged with, OK? But as of right now, you know that it’s illegal to bring a gun on a school property. Obviously, it’s illegal to shoot at people and to harm them. So right now, you’re being placed under arrest,” the officer told him. Gray responded, “OK. Yes, I understand.”
Before he was transported, Gray asked the officer to relay a message to his father: “Tell him that it wasn’t his fault and that I know he tried his hardest.”
As the audio played in court, Gray gently twisted in his chair when the message to his father was heard but his facial expression remained unchanged.
What we learned from Colt Gray's interview with the investigator
About 30 minutes after the Apalachee school shooting, Colt Gray waived his Miranda Rights and spoke to an investigator for over an hour about how he planned and carried out the attack.
Here are the key takeaways from the interview:
Sobs and gasps: Colt Gray sounded distraught in the interview, heavily crying, gasping for air and offering confused statements.
Apology: The then-14-year-old repeatedly apologized for the shooting. “I’m so f***ing sorry,” he said. “Oh my God.”
Delusions: Colt expressed delusional ideas, saying his teachers were out to get him and that he heard voices in his head “egging him on” to commit the shooting.
Defends father: Colt said he never told his father Colin Gray about his plans to shoot up the school and said he was not to blame. “Tell him that it’s not his fault,” Colt told the investigator.
Contradictions: Colt contradicted himself several times on when he began thinking of carrying out the attack. He also said he got the firearm from his father’s truck, but evidence at his father’s trial showed he actually got it from his father’s closet.
More people in court leave as police interview audio continues
The judge granted a brief recess about 30 minutes into the police interview audio. When court resumed, it was considerably emptier. Many people, especially those sitting in the family rows, walked out of the courtroom and did not return.
The mother and older sister of victim Mason Schermerhorn were among the people who left court.
During the first part of the police interview, a friend of Schermerhorn’s family walked out, saying, “I’ve gotta go, I can’t take this.”
Colt Gray said he "became obsessed" with Nikolas Cruz
In an interview shortly after the school shooting, Colt Gray told an investigator he “became obsessed” with Nikolas Cruz, the Parkland, Florida school shooter.
“I became obsessed with him on an emotional level because I understood some of the stuff he came through,” Colt said.
“He shot up his school, but on an emotional level I could understand the trauma and stuff that he went through.”
Colt said they were both similarly neglected and bullied while growing up.
Investigators later found a shrine of photos to Cruz in Colt’s bedroom.
Cruz is serving a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018.
Victim's family friend walks out of court as police interview audio plays
As the recording of Colt Gray’s police interview played in the courtroom, a family member of Taylor Jones, who is also friends with Mason Schermerhorn’s family said, “This is ridiculous.” A few minutes later, she walked out of the room.
“I’ve gotta go, I can’t take this,” she said.
The police interview was recorded shortly after the September 2024 mass shooting.
This post has been updated with additional information.
Colt Gray breaks down in interview, describes hesitation before shooting
The courtroom heard audio of Colt Gray during a police interview after the shooting, in which the then-14-year-old described briefly reconsidering his actions before opening fire at Apalachee High School.
“I had a moment in the bathroom of like, I probably shouldn’t do this … the next thing I know I’m f***ing shooting in a classroom, dude,” he says, sobbing.
Gray was extremely emotional on the recording, crying and gasping as he described one of the people he shot in the hallway. “He didn’t even know, dude. He was looking the other way and I just shot him.”
The interview also focused on how Gray accessed the firearm, an AR-15-style rifle. “I just grabbed whatever was closest.”
He told investigators his father had planned to secure his guns days before the shooting, saying, “I told him to hide his guns and he did but I don’t know how I found them,” Gray added.
Gray told the investigator he had been struggling mentally and had been “thinking about it for years.”
“It’s only gotten worse. I finally just now get to the point where I wanted to reach out and get help,” he said regarding his father making a doctor’s appointment for him. “We were so close.”
Colt told investigator he wasn’t trying to justify his actions
During his first interview after the shooting, Colt Gray repeatedly told an investigator “this is f***ing horrible” and that he was not trying to justify his actions.
“Oh my God, this is f***ing horrible man … having no control over these impulses I was doing,” Colt said in the recorded interview, which was played in court.
He added he was not trying to use his “fogginess” to “justify this.”
“I’m not trying to get remorse at all,” he said. “This is f***ing horrible.”
In police interview, Colt Gray apologized and blamed voices in his head
A sobbing, gasping Colt Gray apologized and offered paranoid, hallucinatory explanations for his actions during a police interview shortly after the September 2024 mass shooting.
“I think my teachers are against me … I see them whispering to each other in the hallway and plotting against me,” he said in the interview that was played in court Friday. “I wanted to do something to get them away from me.”
“I’m so f***ing sorry,” he said. “Oh my God.”
He said he heard voices in his head “egging him on” to commit the shooting.
“This is horrible. They’re telling me it’s OK and I did the right thing,” he said.
At that point in the interview, the school bell rang.
"Save me from this cruel world," Colt Gray wrote in 2nd notebook
Colt Gray wrote pleas for help and plans for a school shooting and suicide in a yellow notebook found in his bedroom, Barrow County Sheriff’s Office investigator Jason Smith testified Friday.
“Save me from this cruel world. I beg you. Don’t leave me unconscious for all of eternity,” Colt wrote in what Smith said appeared to be a poem. “I just wanna be taken away from this cruel world.”
In other parts of the notebook, he drew a portrait of Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz and a sketch of his backpack with a gun sticking out of it. He also drew sketches of a person – labeled “You” – shooting a teacher and other students before killing himself.
On the last page, he wrote an ode to Cruz, calling him “the love of my life.”
After the shooting, investigators found a shrine to Cruz on Colt’s bedroom wall.
Earlier Friday, Smith detailed excerpts from another notebook belonging to Colt that was left in a classroom.
Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health issues, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 to speak with a trained counselor or visit the NSPL site.
Investigator's interview with Colt Gray after shooting being played in court
The first interview investigators conducted with Colt Gray, approximately 30 minutes following the shooting, is being played in court now.
In the interview, Colt can be heard whimpering and beginning to sob as he’s asked for his name and birth date.
“I was just contemplating, like, I really shouldn’t do this but my life was already over,” Colt could be heard telling the investigator.
While the interview is being played, Colt is looking down at his lap. The people in the courtroom are completely silent, listening to the recording.
Court proceedings resume after lunch recess
Lead investigator Jason Smith returns to the stand as court reconvenes.
