Rifle, crime scene images shown in trial of father of alleged school shooter
WINDER, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent showed the AR-style rifle recovered in the aftermath of the Sept. 4, 2024, mass shooting at Apalachee High School that left four people dead and nine others injured.
The testimony came on the third day in the trial of Colin Gray, whose son, Colt Gray, is accused of killing four people and injuring nine others. Colin Gray is facing 29 felony counts connected to the shooting, standing accused of allowing his son access to the weapon allegedly used in the shooting.
Daniella Stuart, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent, testified Colt Gray brought 103 rounds of ammunition with him that day; fired 36 rounds; and left 67 rounds in the gun and several magazines.
Stuart also testified a knife and gun oil were found in Colt Gray’s backpack, and showed those items to the jury of eight men and seven women in the trial.
If convicted on all counts, Colin Gray faces up to 180 years in prison.
Stuart testified three days were needed to fully process the crime scene, and that she took more than 1,000 crime scene photos. Among those photos were:
- A hat on the posterboard Colt Gray allegedly used to hide the gun; and
- Photos of a classroom with chairs and desks turned upside down and bullet deflections and shell casings.
Stuart also showed the jury Colt Gray’s alleged backpack that she said contained the knife and gun oil inside.
Several witnesses also testified Wednesday about the confusion surrounding the shooter’s identity in the incident that killed four people and injured nine others at Apalachee High School more than a year ago.
Deigh Martin, who was an Apalachee High School assistant principal at the time of the shooting testified that administrators initially tracked down the wrong student — a mix-up between “Colt Gray” and “Colton Gray.”
“I was doing that and talking to him, he was like ‘I think you’re looking for the guy that sits across from me, his name is Colt Gray,’” Martin told jurors. “And we kind of knew that that was a mix up.”
Under cross-examination, the assistant principal said a teacher came to the office around 9:40 a.m. with concerns of Colt Gray’s behavior, who asked earlier in the morning whether the school had ever had any active shooter drills.
Defense attorneys asked the former assistant principal whether the teacher gave a physical description of the student in question. Martin said no, and when asked, said she did not ask for a physical description of the student. The defense attorney asked whether the concerned teacher was taken back to the classroom to identify the student. Martin answered ‘no.’
Brandon King, a deputy from the Barrow County sheriff’s office assigned as a school resource officer (SRO) to the school, testified he received a call from Deigh Martin, then an Apalachee assistant principal, informing him about a concerning email regarding a student.
King testified Martin had been told the student was carrying a large bookbag and was asking questions about active shooter drills. King added he knew nothing the student or what he looked like.
King testified he was told to be searching for a student named Colt Gray, who was found in a restroom. But that student merely had a similar name and, when found, was subjected to a pat down. King said that student was shocked and confused about why he was bring searched.
At that point, King testified SROs realized there was another student named Colt Gray.
“I think we knew at that time it was kind of a mix up,” Martin testified.
King testified he returned to the school counselor’s office but didn’t find Colt Gray there. King said the counselor told him that Colt Gray’s mother had called that morning and was worried about him.
King testified he was shown a fourth-grade photo of Colt Gray. He said SROs were preparing to search the school’s J Hall area when they heard gunshots and immediately began running toward the sounds.
““I said, ‘Show me your f*****g hands!’,” King testified, and said the shooter put his hands up.
“He got on his stomach, put his arms out on his sides like an airplane, and turned his head to the side not looking at us,” King said. He testified the shooter’s pockets were full of rifle magazines.
King testified he located a victim - later identified as Mason Schermerhorn - but “there was no amount of medical care they could render to save his life.”
Colin Gray’s defense team continually pointed out SROs had no description of the shooter other that a “white male,” and that school officials and others had made mistakes besides Colin Gray.
Legal analyst Josh Schiffer, speaking on ANF+, said the defense is likely to highlight choices made by the school.
“The defense is going to be able to make a lot of ‘hey’ over ‘the school doesn’t do this … and doesn’t do this and doesn’t do this,’” Schiffer said.
However, Schiffer noted the prosecution’s case centers on the actions of Colin Gray, not the school system.
“Colin Gray is accused of being the only person who could have prevented that or at least the main person that contributed to it,” he said. “That’s at the center of the state’s argument.”
Schiffer said the case marks new legal ground in Georgia.
“It’s the first time in Georgia we’ve ever had someone prosecuted on what somebody did with a firearm that had been made available by the defendant,” he said. “We don’t know how the jury is going to respond to that.”
>> Colin Gray’s Apalachee school shooting trial | What you need to know
Joseph Clark, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation special agent, responded to the shooting. Clark testified he had to deliver the death notification to the family of Ricky Aspinwall, one of the four victims killed in the shooting.
Clark also said he made contact with the treating physician for Taylor (a juvenile, last name withheld), a 14-year-old student who was shot in the leg.
Prosecutors presented photographs of Taylor’s blood-stained clothing from the day of the shooting.
Zane Zeini, now a former Apalachee High School student, testified he was in the school restroom and heard loud banging as he made his way back to class. He said he witnessed a girl running past him, turned around and saw the shooter.
“I had run back to the classroom, and per the rules the teacher couldn’t let me in so she told me to go hide in the bathroom,” Zeini said, who testified he remained hidden in the bathroom for several minutes until officers arrived and escorted him to safety.
“I texted my family, and said ‘I love y’all’ and told them what the situation was,” Zeini said.
Dr. Samantha Mattox, a medical examiner with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation testified about the injuries sustained by the four victims.
When asked whether quicker medical intervention might have saved any of them, the examiner said the injuries were so severe that survival was unlikely even if they had occurred “in front of a hospital.”
Donovan Boyd, a school resource officer, testified he initially responded to assist in locating the shooter within the school building. He and other SROs heard gunshots and ran down the hallway toward the sound, he said.
Boyd testified once he was close enough enough to identify the shooter as a student, the SROs commanded, “Drop the gun.” Boyd said Colt Gray was “compliant,” and immediately dropped the weapon. Boyd testified SROs recovered multiple magazines from Colt Gray’s pockets.
DETAILS
Defense attorneys cross-examined Boyd and tried to establish SROs were operating with incomplete information, and that school administrators and others made critical mistakes besides Colin Gray.
>> Full coverage of the Apalachee High School shooting
Colt Gray, the alleged shooter, has not yet had his trial date set and faces charges including four counts of malice murder. Both Colin Gray and Colt Gray have pleaded not guilty.
Atlanta News First will stream the trial gavel-to-gavel until its conclusion.
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