this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2026
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A man who gave his son the gun he used to kill two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Georgia was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison.

Colin Gray’s sentencing comes days after his son, Colt Gray, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting at the school 45 miles (70 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta. Colt Gray had pleaded guilty to murder and other charges.

A defense attorney for Colin Gray asked the judge for a sentence that would amount to 10 years in prison followed by 10 years on probation. The district attorney said Gray deserves a sentence of 80 years in prison.

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[–] aaa999@lemmy.world 4 points 14 hours ago

"colt gray"

not "gunmetal gray"

bury him under the jail what kind of dad would fuck up an opportunity like that you already named the kid "gun" commit to the fuckin joke come on man

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 3 points 14 hours ago

Sigh...

We Care About Your Privacy

Do you?

To provide you with a more personalized, better-performing .... Blah.

Then the next paragraph: We and our 613 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting

So fuck you. you first fuck my privacy and then lie to me about it. I know, nothing new, not even the worst offender, but that "we care" always incenses me to the point that I would punch the manager who wrote that.

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth 3 points 14 hours ago

I feel the sentences should be the other way around.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 6 points 18 hours ago

The sentence should have been longer. He not only helped kill all those people, he destroyed his son's life, too. I don't see how he deserved any mercy.

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca -4 points 14 hours ago

I don't know how to feel about this. Of course no parent should give their young child a gun, but them again, nobody should have a gun if we go in that street and please do not forget that this is the US and this sort of dumb shit is fairly normal

If you send this guy to jail for giving his son a gun you can jail a few million more people whondid the same but whose only difference is that their son isn't a murdering psychopath.

If the guy knew hisnaon was murderous, then by all means, jail him, bit apparently he didn't.

So why is he jailed then? Basically because he was unlucky enough to have a psycho son?

Look, of you want to do this right, then fucking ban guns for under 21. Want to do better? Bam gims completely. Nobody needs guns and fuck those "but for my personal protection" sob stories, it's bullshit, you don't need a gun.

All that this does is make more victims after the crime

[–] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 43 points 2 days ago

YES. GOOD.

I am so sick of these gun nut enabler parents who refuse to manage their personal WMD's like responsible adults.

[–] SatansMaggotyCumFart@piefed.world 15 points 1 day ago (2 children)

That's definitely an improvement for accountability but people with weapons should have to carry liability insurance so the victims can get paid too.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Oh yes, the typical American response. Sorry your child is dead, but here's a check to make you feel better.

Compensating the victims and enforcing consequences on the liable party is 'the typical american' response?

I wish it was.

That would be awesome.

[–] deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 14 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Named his son Colt.

Healthy stable genius.

[–] blockheadjt@sh.itjust.works 1 points 13 hours ago

Colton is a name. Maybe the kid chose the shorter version.

The gun was named after a person in the first place.

[–] TomMasz@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago

Good, but should have been longer.

[–] picklerick@lemmy.ml 13 points 1 day ago

pos enabler

[–] TheCoralReefsAreDying69@lemmy.world 0 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

In general, I hate this prescident of sentencing parents for the actions of their children. In this case there does seem to be serious negligence on the part of the father. I don't love this, but I definitely understand

Judge Nicholas Primm, who also sentenced Colt Gray, was blunt in addressing the elder Gray: “It is clear you failed as a parent.” But he said punishing crimes of negligence is particularly difficult because there was no intent to commit a crime.

....

Colt Gray, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, had shown signs of deteriorating mental health in the weeks leading up to the killings, according to testimony. He belonged to a “true crime community” online where he and other young people discussed their obsession with mass shooters, an investigator testified.

The teen’s mother, Marcee Gray, who was separated from Colin Gray, told investigators she had argued with her estranged husband weeks before the shooting, asking him to secure his guns and restrict their son’s access.

....

“You were convicted because the warning lights were flashing brighter and brighter and you didn’t get him help and you didn’t remove his access to the guns,” Primm said.

[–] buddascrayon@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago

He's not being sentenced for the actions of his son. He's being sentenced for his own actions in giving a deadly weapon to someone who should not have been in possession of a deadly weapon.

And that is a precedent we should be expanding.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 day ago

The father facilitated the sons actions, he was an accessory to mass murder. The whole problem of guns in the USA is lack of accountability.

[–] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

I understand that 'Guilt By Association' is kind of a sticky concept, but it's been a recurring theme in recent years where these public and mass shootings perpetrated by minors seem to have been directly preventable absent parental negligence or implicit support. For that reason, I'm glad to see the law beginning to recognize the problem and act.

To me, this is no different than an adult giving booze or drugs to minors, just significantly more catastrophic.