Here's the latest
• Shooting suspect pleads guilty: Colt Gray, now 16, pleaded guilty to murder and other crimes today in the 2024 shooting at his high school in Winder, Georgia, that left four people dead and nine injured. He previously pleaded not guilty.
• Victim impact statements: Victims of the shooting are now speaking in court about how their lives have changed since the attack. Colt will later have a chance to speak, and his attorneys can present evidence and argue for or against a particular sentence.
• Life sentence expected: Colt Gray is expected to be sentenced next week to life in prison, either with or without parole, for four counts of murder.
• Father convicted: Earlier this year, Colt’s father was convicted of murder and manslaughter for buying his son a rifle and not securing it despite knowing he was a risk to others.
Victim impact statements in the case against Colt Gray have started
Victim impact statement in the case against Colt Gray, who has now pleaded guilty, have begun.
The first person to address the court is Breanna Schermerhorn, the mother of victim Mason Schermerhorn.
These are the invisible helpers guiding survivors in court
Victims, including the mostly teenage survivors of the worst mass shooting in Georgia history, are now expected to take the stand ahead to give impact statements, ahead of Colt Gray’s sentencing. For many, that means resurfacing immense trauma.
Amanda Dibble is one of the district attorney office’s victim advocates who will support the surviving victims as they testify this week.
“I needed to compose myself to make sure that I can be strong for them and give them what they need,” Dibble said.
In her 14 years as a victim advocate, the Apalachee case has been the most challenging, Dibble said. But “if I can make a difference with a victim and help them through the process, then that makes it worth it to me.”
Her work includes updating families about court dates, connecting them with counseling and helping them understand the criminal justice system. She also brings victims into an empty courtroom beforehand so they can visualize where they will sit and what to expect.
“I feel like that kind of takes a little anxiety off the table,” she said.
The most difficult part of her job is listening to days of victim impact statements, Dibble said.
“I wish I could take their pain away,” she said. “Having to testify kind of brings back those feelings, those fears and brings back the trauma. So it’s courageous for them to get up on the stand, especially in a high-profile case, and to talk about what happened.”
CNN’s Andy Rose contributed to this reporting.
Families crying as charges against Colt Gray are reviewed
While the prosecution reviews the 55 charges against Colt Gray, a lot of sniffling can be heard from the gallery as victims’ families are crying, using tissues to wipe their faces.
Mason Schermerhorn’s mother started crying when District Attorney Brad Smith mentioned her son’s name while reading out charges against Gray.
Deputies and court officers are lining the walls and staring right at the gallery to make sure there are no outburst.
Colt Gray officially pleads guilty to all charges
Colt Gray officially pleaded guilty in court Friday to all 55 charges against him, including four counts of murder, for the 2024 mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia.
“You understand that you will be pleading guilty to the entire indictment today, is that right?” the judge asked.
“Yes, your honor,” Colt responded. The judge said he will accept the plea.
Gray, 14 at the time of the shooting, killed students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo and teachers Richard Aspinwall and Cristina Irimie. He wounded nine others in the attack.
He had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges but indicated in recent weeks his plan to change his plea. The plea was non-negotiated, meaning prosecutors did not offer anything in exchange for his guilty plea.
Colt Gray is answering questions from judge
Colt Gray, wearing a black suit and sporting short hair, is answering questions from the judge about his plans to plead guilty.
The judge asked him if he understands his rights, and Colt has responded with short “yes, your honor” to each question. He also confirmed to the court he has mental health issues and takes medication to treat them.
This is a non-negotiated plea, meaning prosecutors did not agree to anything in exchange for his guilty plea.
Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith then read aloud the charges against the teen, naming the individual students and teachers who were killed or harmed.
When Colt indicated he was ready to plead guilty, a woman in court said quietly, but firmly, “Thank God.”
Hearing now underway
Today’s hearing in the case against Colt Gray at the Barrow County Courthouse in Winder, Georgia, is now underway.
Gray, now 16, is expected to plead guilty to murder and other crimes today in the 2024 shooting at his high school in Winder, Georgia.
The courtroom is packed as victims' families take their seats
The courtroom is filling up as the families of the shooting victims’ and others take their seats.
Victim Christian Angulo’s family is in attendance, with Angulo’s brother, Ismael Angulo, Jr., wearing a shirt with his brother’s picture on it.
Several members of Mason Schermerhorn’s family are also in attendance and wearing bright red shirts with pictures of Mason on them. The shirts read “#lovelikemason” on the back.
Six bikers in leather riding vests associated with the “Mystics Saints Foundation” are seated as well. “If someone needs a hug, a shoulder to cry on, or simply someone to stand beside them, we’re there,” the group previously posted on Facebook.
At least 10 sheriff’s deputies are also inside the courtroom, in addition to Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith and two court bailiffs.
Courtroom has opened
Good morning from Winder, Georgia, where the courtroom has opened to the press and public this rainy Friday morning.
In court, the families of several victims are here, and there are five rows of teenagers and their parents present as well.
Colt Gray’s hearing is expected to start at 9 a.m. ET.
Timeline of the shooting and legal cases
Here’s a timeline of the key moments in the case, including the lead-up to the shooting, the attack itself and the legal aftermath.
May 21, 2023: The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office visited Colt and Colin Gray’s home after receiving an FBI tip about an online threat to shoot up a school. Colt denied posting the threat, and law enforcement was ultimately not able to substantiate the tip.
Christmas 2023: Colin Gray purchased an AR-15-style rifle for his son as a Christmas present.
September 4, 2024: Colt Gray, then 14, took the bus to Apalachee High School with the rifle hidden in his backpack, authorities said. He made several concerning comments that morning, so school officials and resource officers went to intercept him. But in a stranger-than-fiction mix-up, they confused him with another student named Kolton Gray.
Colt Gray opened fire indiscriminately into a math class and shot several people in the hallway, killing two students and two teachers and injuring nine others, authorities said. He surrendered to police and confessed to the shooting, according to authorities.
September 5, 2024: Colin Gray, Colt’s father, is arrested on charges of murder and manslaughter, accused of providing his son with the firearm despite knowing he was a threat to others.
October 22, 2024: Colt Gray enters a not guilty plea.
November 21, 2024: Colin Gray enters a not guilty plea.
March 3, 2026: After a two-week trial, Colin Gray is found guilty of murder and manslaughter in a case testing the limits of who is responsible for a mass shooting.
July 11, 2026: Court documents indicate Colt Gray plans to change his plea to guilty.
These are the four killed in the Apalachee High School shooting
Two students and two teachers were killed during the September 2024 shooting that left Apalachee High School and Winder, Georgia, in mourning:
- Cristina Irimie was an Apalachee High School math teacher. She was having a late birthday celebration with her students the day she was killed, according to a family friend. A relative said Irimie sacrificed herself to save her students, adding, “She died for her children like any good mom would do, like a good teacher would do. She couldn’t have her own, so these were her kids.”
- Richard Aspinwall, a math teacher and defensive coordinator for the school football team, was described as sweet and kind. He had moved to Apalachee High from another school two years before the attack. “He was a girl dad,” Mike Hancock, Apalachee’s head football coach at the time, recalled. “He loved being a girl dad.”
- Mason Schermerhorn, 14, was remembered by family friends as a “loving soul” and a “creative kid.” “He was the sweetest most loving soul with the biggest smile and will be missed dearly,” a family friend wrote. He loved playing Roblox, Genshin and other video games, and his smile was unforgettable, his sister, Alanna, said.
- Christian Angulo, 14, was described by his older sister as a “very good kid” who was “very sweet and so caring.” His mother called him a sweet boy brimming with dreams. He loved to play soccer and “was never mean,” the sister, Lisette, said in a statement shared by a spokesperson. “He was barely starting his first year of high school and still figuring out his sense of style, his sense of who he was.”
What to expect today
Colt Gray, now 16, is expected to change his plea to guilty and be sentenced to life in prison in a hearing that begins Friday and continues into next week.
Here’s what to expect today in this hearing, which starts at 9 a.m. ET:
Non-negotiated guilty plea: Colt Gray is expected to plead guilty to 55 felony counts, including four counts of malice murder. This is a non-negotiated plea, meaning prosecutors did not agree to anything in exchange for his guilty plea.
Attorney arguments and testimony: The prosecution and defense attorneys have an opportunity to present evidence and argue for or against a particular sentence. In general, prosecutors highlight aggravating factors and ask for a harsher sentence, while defense tries to highlight mitigating factors and ask for a more lenient sentence.
Victim impact statements: Victims and their families have the chance to speak to the court about how the shooting affected their lives.
Colt Gray has a chance to speak: The defendant will have an opportunity to speak to the court, known as allocution. He has not previously spoken in depth about the shooting.
Judge speaks and issues sentence: The judge offers final views on the case and then issues the sentence. Georgia law limits the judge to two choices for murder: Life in prison with the possibility of parole, or life without parole. Though Georgia allows the death penalty for murder, the US Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that people cannot be sentenced to death for crimes committed before age 18.
Shooter's father to be sentenced next week
Colin Gray, the father of teen school shooter Colt Gray, is expected to be sentenced next week to at least a decade in prison on charges of murder and manslaughter related to the shooting.
Victim impact statements in that case are expected to begin on Thursday, and could last more than a day. Colin Gray will also have a chance to speak to the court before the judge issues the sentence.
In a two-week trial earlier this year, prosecutors argued the boy’s father had exhibited “criminal negligence” by buying his son an AR-15 rifle as a Christmas gift and leaving the weapon unsecured – despite prior warnings that his son was a danger to others. His defense team argued he was unaware of his son’s violent plans and had taken steps to get him help for his mental health troubles.
A jury convicted him on all 27 charges: two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, 18 counts of cruelty to children and five counts of reckless conduct.
He faces 10 to 30 years in prison on each murder charge and one to 10 years on each manslaughter charge.
The trial was part of a broader push to hold more people accountable for a school shooting, including the shooter’s parents. In a similar case, the parents of the 2021 Oxford High School teenage shooter in Michigan were convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison.
