A grand jury handed down dozens of charges Thursday against the suspected Apalachee High School shooter and his father, also charged in connection with the Deadliest school shooting in Georgia history.
New accusations against Colt Gray, 14 years old include 4 counts of “malicious murder,” 22 counts of aggravated assault, and 18 counts of first-degree cruelty to children. He faces a total of 55 charges.
District Attorney Brad Smith said the indictment includes charges related not only to the victims who were killed and physically injured, but also to the people who were in the room the alleged shooter entered and to those who were in the corridor.
“It’s a whole county that’s been affected by this,” Smith told CBS News on Thursday. “All of them are victims in some way.”
Four people – two students and two teachers – were killed and nine others injured. in the September shooting at Winder, Georgia, high school.
They are expected in court for their arraignment on November 21, when they are expected to plead guilty. The alleged shooter is charged as an adult and faces life in prison.
Neither her attorney nor her father’s attorney Colin Gray responded to CBS News’ request for comment.
Colin Gray, 54, faces 29 chargesincluding second-degree murder, second-degree cruelty to children, involuntary manslaughter and reckless driving.
The indictment and new charges come a day after chilling new details about Colt Gray’s alleged plans were revealed in investigators’ testimony at a hearing Wednesday where a judge determined the case could move forward against the father of the alleged shooter.
At Wednesday’s hearing, authorities revealed details from the alleged shooter’s notebooks which included detailed plans of the attack as well as violent drawings. Witnesses said Colin Gray knew of his son’s mental health issues but bought him a laser sight, tactical vest and ammunition in the months before the shooting.
Investigators also said the suspected shooter erected a “shrine” to school shooters in his bedroom and hung a photo of the Parkland shooter, who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 Their testimony revealed that his father knew. his obsession with school shooters and that the teen had even discussed the Parkland shooting with his grandmother about a week before the shooting.
