The teenager charged with killing two students and two teachers at a high school in Georgia made his first appearance in court Friday morning.
The 14-year-old was arraigned on four counts of felony murder, two days after being taken into custody for the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. Each count carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. A judge said he will not face the death penalty due to his age.
In court, the teenager declined to seek bail. Despite his age, he is being charged as an adult.
Family members of the victims sat in the front row in court. They were visibly emotional, with one holding a stuffed animal.
The suspected shooter's father, 54-year-old Colin Gray, also appeared in court Friday, an hour after his son. He was arrested Thursday in connection with the shooting after giving his son a military-style assault rifle for Christmas.
The father was charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children.
"These charges stem from Mr. Gray knowingly allowing his son Colt to possess a weapon," GBI Director Chris Hosey said at a press conference Thursday evening.
His charges carry a maximum combined sentence of up to 180 years.
In court, there was also no bond request from the father.
Preliminary hearings were set for both the teen and his father on Dec. 4 at 8:30 a.m., but in separate courts.
This is the first time in Georgia that a parent has been charged in connection to a school shooting, and the second time in the U.S.
The first parents to be held criminally liable in the U.S. were Jennifer and James Crumbley of Michigan, who were sentenced to 10 years in prison after their son Ethan Crumbley killed four students and injured seven others at Oxford High School in 2022. Their son was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
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In addition to the four killed in the Georgia shooting, nine others were wounded.
Authorities on Thursday said several people were still hospitalized following the shooting. All are expected to make a full recovery and will be able to leave the hospital.
In 2023, Colin Gray told a Jackson County Sheriff's investigator that his son was dealing with bullying at school and had struggled after his parents separated. According to interview transcripts, Gray said his son, who was familiar with guns and hunting, "knows the seriousness of weapons and what they can do, and how to use them and not use them."
The teen denied making online threats to commit a shooting when authorities interviewed him in 2023.
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office said nothing had justified bringing charges against either the teen or his father in 2023.
“We did not drop the ball at all on this,” Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum told The Associated Press. “We did all we could do with what we had at the time.”
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