A man has been convicted of murder and manslaughter after giving a semi-automatic, assault-style rifle to his teenage son, who is accused of using it to kill two high school students and two teachers.
Collin Grey was found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2024 shooting deaths at Apalachee High School in Winder, northeast Atlanta, in the deaths of two 14-year-old students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo.
He was also found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of teacher Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimi, 53. Another teacher and eight other students were injured in the mass shooting, which has been blamed on Mr Grey’s teenage son, Colt.
The teen’s mother, Marci Grey, testified that she had urged his father to take all the guns and lock them inside his truck so that her son, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, could not reach them.
Colin Grey is one of several parents being sued over the shootings. Photo: AP
The couple had separated in the months before the shooting.
Grey is one of several parents whose children were prosecuted after being charged in deadly shootings across the US.
Prosecutors said he gave his son access to the gun and ammunition “after receiving adequate warning that the Colt Grey would cause harm and endanger the physical safety of another.”
The father was also convicted of several counts of negligent conduct and cruelty toward children.
His son has been charged with a total of 55 cases, including murder.
Read more:
Rapper Gates jailed for killing student in hit-and-run
Armed police called after a man was stabbed in Birmingham
The teen has pleaded not guilty at a hearing to be held in mid-March.
Investigators allege he carefully planned the September 4 attack on the school of 1,900 students two years ago.
They reported that he boarded a school bus with a semiautomatic, assault-style rifle in his book bag, its barrel sticking out and wrapped in poster board.
After leaving his second-period class, he allegedly emerged from the bathroom with the weapon and shot people in the classroom and hallway.
A prosecutor said Colin Grey had given him a gun as a Christmas gift and allowed his son to have access to the gun, despite knowing that the boy’s mental health had deteriorated.
