Colt Gray, the 16-year-old who carried out the 2024 Apalachee High School shooting in Georgia, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Tuesday. Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm handed down the sentence in Barrow County after Gray pleaded guilty to all 55 charges, including four counts of malice murder.
The shooting on Sept. 4, 2024, killed teachers Richard Aspinwall and Cristina Irimie and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo. Another teacher and eight students were wounded.
Gray was 14 at the time of the attack, which barred prosecutors from seeking the death penalty under Georgia law. His sentence options ranged from life with parole to life without parole.
Judge Primm said Gray studied other mass shooters and sought infamy, noting that the teen wrote about wanting to make history through pain. Prosecutors presented evidence of planning, including notebooks and maps, while the defense highlighted Gray's troubled childhood and mental health issues.
Gray's father, Colin Gray, is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday after his conviction on related charges.