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ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The father of the suspected shooter who allegedly killed four people and injured nine others in last week’s metro Atlanta school shooting is facing the stiffest charges ever leveled against the parent of a juvenile charged in such a deadly attack.

Colin Gray, 54, was charged this past Friday with four counts of involuntary manslaughter; two counts of second-degree murder; and eight counts of cruelty to children. Police say he knowingly allowed his son - Colt Gray, 14 - to have access to an AR-style rifle that was allegedly used in the deadly Apalachee High School shooting.

Colt Gray is the suspect in the shooting that left two students and two teachers dead and nine others hospitalized on Wednesday at Apalachee High School. Police have said Colt will tried as an adult.

“Colt Gray has been charged with four counts of murder and faces up to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole,” aid John Acevedo, professor at Atlanta’s Emory University School of Law. “There’s likely going to be additional charges filed against Colt Gray, because he’s suspected of shooting another seven people and two other individuals were injured in kind of panic afterward. So those charges are still pending, and we’ll see what his ultimate charges are.”

Last week, Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith said more charges are being considered against both Colt Gray and Colin Gray.

“In Georgia, you can elevate a manslaughter charge to second degree murder if it involves cruelty to a child,” Acevedo said. “That’s how we’re seeing both the cruelty to a child charge and the manslaughter charge, and why there’s only two counts of second degree murder against the father. He faces a maximum of about 108 years imprisonment.”

Smith said a grand jury has been empaneled and will consider formal charges against them on Oct. 17, 2024. Both Colt Gray and Colin Gray appeared this past Friday in the Barrow County courthouse where Judge Currie Mingledorff II set Dec. 4, 2024, at 8:30 a.m., as preliminary hearings for both.

“(Colin Gray’s) second-degree murder charges are going to be difficult to prove,” Acevedo said. “Quite often, prosecutors will then charge a lesser offense, and that’s what’s happened here.”

The case against Colin Gray is only the second time in U.S. history a juvenile’s parent has been charged in connection with a deadly shooting. On November 30, 2021, Ethan Robert Crumbley, 15, armed with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, killed four students and injured seven people, including a teacher.

His parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, were charged with involuntary manslaughter for failing to secure the handgun used in the shooting. After failing to appear for their arraignment, the parents were the subjects of a manhunt by the U.S. Marshals; they were caught and arrested in Detroit.

The Crumbleys were tried and convicted separately of four counts of involuntary manslaughter and were jointly sentenced on April 9, 2024, to the maximum allowed: 15 years in prison, with the possibility of parole after 10 years.

“Each state has its own criminal law, so the Michigan case doesn’t create precedent,” Acevedo said. “But psychologically it set the precedent and opened the door for district attorneys to prosecute parents after one of these school shootings, especially when they either provided the gun or knowingly allowed the child to possess the gun.

“What we’re seeing now is a shift away from liability for gun manufacturers and instead criminal liability for the parents. This is the largest penalty Michigan law, they were only charged with negligent homicide, and therefore the penalties will be lower. It’s going to be unclear what Colin gray is eventually charged with that will be left to the grand jury if the charges stand or even are added to them.”

“I’m not trying to send a message,” Smith said after both suspects’ court appearances. “I’m just trying to use the tools in my arsenal to prosecute people for the crimes they commit.”

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