Accused Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray walks into a Barrow County courtroom for a brief status hearing, where attorneys updated the judge on his pending psychological evaluation, on December 9, 2025. (FOX 5)
BARROW COUNTY, Ga. - Attorneys for the teen accused of executing a deadly mass shooting at Apalachee High School will return to a Barrow County courtroom Thursday morning for a pivotal status hearing.
The 9 a.m. legal proceeding follows months of delays while the court awaited an evaluation of the suspect's mental health status.
Barrow County court proceeding
What we know:
Colt Gray is scheduled to appear at the Barrow County courthouse Thursday at 9 a.m. for a status hearing.
The case against the accused gunman has been at a standstill while waiting for a mental health evaluation.
Thursday's hearing could reveal the findings of that mental health evaluation and determine exactly how the legal case will move forward.
Gray faces malice and felony murder charges for the attack and has entered a plea of not guilty.
Stalled legal case
What we don't know:
It remains unclear what the specific results of the psychiatric review are or if the defense plans to challenge Gray's competency to stand trial.
Officials have not stated if the public will have full access to the medical findings during Thursday's session.
Apalachee High School shooting
The backstory:
Authorities said Gray walked into Apalachee High School on Sept. 4, 2024, carrying an AR-15-style rifle and opened fire.
The mass shooting killed 14-year-old student Christian Angulo, 14-year-old student Mason Schermerhorn, 53-year-old teacher Cristina Irimie and 39-year-old teacher Richard Aspinwall.
Seven additional people suffered injuries during the campus attack, and Gray was subsequently charged with four counts of felony murder.
Father enabling attack
Dig deeper:
The teen's father, Colin Gray, was found guilty in March on 27 felony counts, including second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children.
Prosecutors successfully argued that the father enabled his teenage son by providing access to the weapon used in the school assault.
Jurors listened to details regarding the younger Gray's severe mental health struggles and viewed video footage of the high school attack during the father's trial.
July sentencing hearing
What's next:
Following his conviction in March, the older Gray is scheduled to return to court for a consecutive two-day sentencing hearing in late July.
Meanwhile, the court system will determine the trajectory of his son's prosecution based on the updates presented Thursday.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Barrow County court records, which detailed the upcoming hearing schedule and prior parental convictions, as well as previous reporting on the Apalachee High School shooting.