The trial of Colin Gray, the father of the alleged Apalachee High School shooter wrapped up its first week on Friday.
Prosecutors spent the week questioning witnesses and presenting material evidence from the shooting that happened on Sept. 4, 2024.
Teachers, students, law enforcement officers, and health care workers all testified about the day of the shooting, and how their lives have been affected.
Katherine Greer is a teacher at Apalachee High School. She testified that Colt Gray left her classroom and tried to re-enter with a rifle, but the door was locked.
“All the kids got in the corner and there was a kid that was in front of the door that just had to drop where he was,” Greer said. “So I crawled over and grabbed his hands. I reached up and turned out the light and I went back over to the kids in the corner.”
On Thursday and Friday, prosecutors detailed Colt’s personal life. Before attending Apalachee High School, he missed about 1.5 years of school. He had attended Apalachee for only a handful of days before the shooting.
(Credit: Chase McGee/GPB News)
The prosecution also presented body camera footage from a Barrow County sheriff’s officer who arrived at the Gray residence after the shooting. In a conversation with law enforcement, Colin Gray seems to say he knew something had happened at Apalachee after his daughter in the adjacent middle school texted him.
On Friday, prosecutors detailed the layout of the house the Grays resided in, along with firearms and ammunition found in the home.
District Attorney Brad Smith also questioned Deborah Polhamus, Colt Gray’s maternal grandmother, about the family’s movement and condition from 2020 to present.
During testimony, Polhamus told jurors that Colt received a rifle as a Christmas gift from his father. She answered “yes” when prosecutors asked whether Colt’s mental and emotional health was spiraling at the time and whether he had a history of violent outbursts. She also confirmed that she and Colin Gray had discussed Colt’s mental health, though she said they did not specifically talk about seeking professional help.
The grandmother appeared emotional as she recounted a question she said Colt once asked her: “If I do something terrible, would you still love me?”
Colin Gray is facing multiple charges for allegedly providing his son with the rifle used in the shooting. Prosecutors say that he was criminally negligent, and he knew his son was a threat to others.
This article comes to Now Georgia in partnership with GPB News
