Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray pleads guilty to all charges at hearing

Colt Gray, the teen accused of killing two teachers and two students and injuring nine others in the 2024 shooting at Georgia's Apalachee High School, pleaded guilty to all 55 charges in court on Friday morning. Gray entered a "non-negotiated" plea, which means that he admitted guilt to all of his charges without a pre-arranged deal between his attorneys and the prosecution. Gray, who was charged as an adult, is facing a total of 55 counts, including malice murder, aggravated battery, and aggravated assault. The judge will have the ultimate say in the sentence. The minimum is life with parole; the maximum is life without parole. The hearing comes months after Gray's attorneys indicated that they were attempting to negotiate a plea deal for the teen. This week is the deadline set by Judge Nicholas Primm for a possible plea. In June, Primm ordered Gray's trial be moved to Columbia County, arguing that the 'widespread local, statewide and national coverage of the case' would make it difficult to find unbiased jurors in Barrow County, where the shooting took place. Four people, 14-year-old students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo and teachers Richard Aspinwall and Cristina Irimie, were killed in the shooting. Another teacher and eight students were wounded. Family, friends of victims give emotional testimony: One by one, family members and survivors described the grief, trauma and lives forever changed by the 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School. Mason Schermerhorn's family remembered him as a caring teenager who 'was so much more than a victim,' while recounting the frantic search for him and the moment they learned he had been killed. Ricky Aspinwall's widow said the life they planned together 'no longer exists,' and Christian Angulo's brother asked the judge to ensure the shooter is never released. A student who survived after being shot described the chaos inside the school, months of hospitalization and rehabilitation, and the lasting pain carried by the Apalachee community. Colt Gray's father, Colin Gray, was convicted on 27 counts, including second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and cruelty to children in March.