Teenager pleads guilty to all 55 counts in 2024 fatal shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia

WINDER, Ga. -- A teenager has pleaded guilty to all 55 counts in a deadly shooting nearly two years ago at Apalachee High School in Georgia. Colt Gray, 16, entered the plea Friday without having reached a deal with prosecutors. He had previously pleaded not guilty to charges in the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting that killed two students and two teachers, and left several others wounded, at the high school about 45 miles (73 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta. Before accepting the plea, Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm asked Gray a series of questions meant to ensure that the teenager was aware of the consequences of his plea and was entering it voluntarily. To each question, Gray responded, "Yes, your honor." Because he pleaded guilty to murder, Gray faces a minimum sentence of life in prison. The judge must decide whether he should be eligible for parole. Once the plea was entered, victim family members began testifying about their loved ones and the losses they experienced as a result of the shooting. Gray's trial had been scheduled to start in mid-October in Columbia County. A jury in March convicted his father, Colin Gray, on charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, and he is scheduled to be sentenced next week. Prosecutors said the elder Gray gave his son the assault-style rifle used to open fire at the school. Teachers Richard "Ricky" Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, died in the shooting. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, seven of them hit by gunfire.