BARROW COUNTY, GA — Almost a year and a half after four people were killed and several others were injured in the mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, part of the case is now heading to court.
Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the second-degree murder trial of Colin Gray, the father of accused shooter Colt Gray.
Prosecutors say Colin Gray gifted his son a rifle seven months after the teen was questioned about an alleged online threat to commit a school shooting. The Apalachee High School shooting happened nine months later.
Colt Gray is accused of shooting 11 people. Four people died, including two teachers and two students.
Colin Gray has pleaded not guilty to 29 charges, including second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and child cruelty. If convicted on all counts, he could face up to 180 years in prison.
The trial will be held in Barrow County, but jurors will be selected from neighboring Hall County.
Atlanta defense attorney Don Samuel, who is not connected to this case, says the case will be challenging for both sides.
“You can’t just in hindsight say ‘well this has been a terrible tragedy and therefore we’re going to find the father guilty,’” Samuel states. “You’re going to first have to decide were those facts sufficient for him to be criminally blameworthy.”
Samuel says jury selection strategy will be critical.
“If it is an emotional jury, you’re going to have a problem because the tragedy was so enormous. If you want an intellectual jury, they may reach the more complicated decision which is, yes it was a tragedy, but there’s a difference between a tragedy and a crime,” Samuel states.
Samuel also says the case is far from a legal slam dunk.
“The prosecution is going to have a difficult time placing blame on someone other than the shooter; that’s a big leap in our society,” he states.
He adds that despite the high-profile nature of the case, it is possible to find an impartial jury.
“No reason to believe it wouldn’t be a perfectly fair jury. It’s a jury that the lawyers are going to have to decide: do we want a really really intellectual jury or do we want an emotional jury?” Samuel states.
A GBI agent previously testified Colin Gray knew his son had an obsession with school shooters, including allegedly having a shrine in his bedroom dedicated to the shooter in the 2018 massacre in Parkland, Florida. Investigators also say Colin allegedly bought a larger magazine for the weapon so it could hold more rounds.
The trial date for Colt Gray is pending.
It is unknown how long jury selection will take or how long the trial will last, but the judge has blocked off three weeks for the process.
WSB Radio’s Veronica Waters contributed to this story.
