Apalachee HS shooting trial: Colt Gray's sister says dad told her to lie to investigators
Colin Gray's daughter testifies on day 7 of murder trial
On the seventh day of the murder trial for Colin Gray, father of the accused Apalachee school shooter Colt Gray, his own daughter took the stand as a key witness.
BARROW COUNTY, Ga. - Testimony continued Tuesday in the trial of Colin Gray, the father of the teenager accused in the 2024 Apalachee High School shooting, after jurors heard emotional testimony from the boy’s mother to open the second week of proceedings.
Colt Gray's sister takes the stand
Colt Gray’s sister testified early Tuesday afternoon that her brother struggled with escalating mental health issues and violent outbursts in the months leading up to the Apalachee High School shooting — and that their father confided in her about those problems but did not secure firearms in the home.
What they're saying:
Colt Gray's sister told jurors she and Colt were close and that he was "closer kind of to me, more than, you know, our parents or … friends at school." She described frequent fights between Colt and their father, Colin Gray, saying arguments would sometimes turn physical, with "punches thrown, a lot of shoving … just a lot of contact." She said Colt damaged property when angry, including putting a hole in her bedroom door.
According to the sister, Colin Gray regularly spoke to her about Colt’s mental health struggles, often after fights. He would talk about "his mental issues and how he wanted to get Colt help, but he didn’t really know how to take that first step." She said getting Colt help was "a pretty regular topic of conversation" in the house. Although he mentioned therapy and possibly medication, she said no appointment ever materialized after a reported panic attack in July 2024 in which Colt asked for 911 to be called.
Colin Gray trial day 4
Colt's sister also testified there were at least three guns in the home and that one rifle was given to Colt as a Christmas present by their father. She said the gun was kept in Colt’s bedroom and that she was concerned about his access to firearms. When asked whether her father ever made the guns safer or stored them more securely, she responded, "No."
She told jurors Colt had pictures and news articles about Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz displayed on his bedroom wall for "three, four months leading up to the shooting." The rifle was kept in that same room. The images, she said, remained up during that time.
On the day of the shooting, Colt's sister said she immediately suspected her brother. While in lockdown at her middle school, she texted her father, "I think we’re thinking the same thing, and I don’t want to talk about it over text." In court, she explained: "I’m referencing that I knew pretty well that Colt was the one that was doing it, and I knew pretty well that my dad knew, too." She said this was before any official confirmation that Colt was the suspect.
The day after the shooting, she underwent a forensic interview. On the way there, she testified, her father instructed her on how to respond to investigators.
Colin Gray's daughter testifies he told her to lie
Colin Gray's daughter testified on Tuesday that her father told her to cover for him when questioned by investigators about whether he knew of his son, Colt Gray's, mental health issues.
"So he told me, like, if they ask me anything … about if he knew that Colt had problems and that his problems would lead up to this, that I should basically try to cover for him," she said.
Specifically, she testified, "He told me not to tell them that he knew what they were," referring to the pictures of Nikolas Cruz on Colt’s wall. When asked whether she was told to say that her father did not know who Cruz was, she replied, "Yes, ma’am," and acknowledged that would not have been truthful.
Colt's sister told the court she felt pressure to protect her father during that interview and admitted she downplayed what he knew at the time. Now living with foster parents, she said her current home is "definitely more stable, more loving, more family," and that counseling and support have helped her "extremely" over the past year and a half.
Colt's sister admitted that she lied in her 2024 forensic interview. She also said that she has broken off all contact with her family and hopes to stay with her foster parents.
She agreed with the defense, who said that staying with her foster family would be easier if her dad, Colin Gray, were convicted at trial.
The state then called Jason Smith, a Barry County investigator, to the witness stand. Smith became choked up recalling when he and other investigators first received the call about a shooting at Apalachee High School.
Smith testified that he was in the second or third wave of arrivals. He then parked by the softball field and ran to the attendance office, where he entered the school.
His main priority once inside was checking for another shooter and clearing classrooms. Smith said he was notified that a suspect was in custody once he arrived.
Smith conducted an interview with Colt and relayed the information gathered to partner law enforcement agencies. He also reviewed surveillance footage of the shooting and then went to obtain warrants for Colt for felony murder.
During a follow-up interview with Colt, Smith testified that he noticed four horizontal lacerations on his upper left arm.
Smith said he watched as Colin's sister was interviewed at the Treehouse, a child advocacy center where children can be interviewed in a neutral setting.
Smith said after Colt's sister's interview at the Treehouse, he asked Colin for a follow-up at the Criminal Investigations Division.
The court adjourned before an interview conducted by Smith with Colin could be shown. The judge announced that the interview with Colin would be shown tomorrow.
GBI agent describes Colin Gray interview
Colin Gray acknowledged buying the rifle his son allegedly used in the Apalachee High School shooting and described months of escalating aggression by the teen, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent testified Tuesday.
GBI testifies in Colin Gray trail
On Tuesday morning, the jury held from a Georgia Bureau of Investigation special agent who interviewed Colin Gray in the hours after his son allegedly opened fire inside the Apalachee High School in Barrow County.
What they're saying:
The agent told jurors he interviewed Colin Gray in the hours after the shooting at Apalachee High School, where prosecutors say Colt Gray opened fire, killing four people and wounding nine others. The testimony came as the second week of Colin Gray’s criminal trial continued. He faces more than two dozen charges that prosecutors say stem from giving his son a rifle despite knowing he was a danger.
Investigators testified they initially knew little about what led up to the shooting, including how the gun was obtained, but said details became clearer after speaking with Colin Gray. The agent said Colin Gray told investigators he had custody of his son and described what he called months of escalating aggression, including physical fights and "bullrush attacks" toward him.
The agent testified Colin Gray admitted he bought the rifle as a Christmas gift in December 2023. Investigators also said Gray gave conflicting accounts about where the gun was stored — first saying it was secured, then later acknowledging it had been kept in Colt’s bedroom.
According to testimony, Colin Gray also acknowledged concerns about his son’s mental health. The agent said Gray told investigators he had contacted counselors and exchanged emails with a treatment facility about a week before the shooting. The agent testified Colin Gray said his son believed he might need to be institutionalized, but no treatment ultimately happened.
The agent also testified that Colin Gray said he noticed an image of Nikolas Cruz — the Parkland, Florida, school shooter — on his son’s wall.
The trial so far
What we know:
Marcee Gray testified Monday that she urged Colin Gray to secure the guns in their home and keep them out of reach of their son, Colt Gray, before the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting in Winder.
"They need to be locked somewhere," she told jurors. "Initially, he said he would."
RELATED: Apalachee HS shooting: Colt Gray's mother describes 'aggressive and unpredictable' behavior
Colin Gray faces 29 counts, including two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors allege he should be held accountable for giving his son the semiautomatic rifle used in the shooting as a Christmas gift, despite warning signs about the teen’s mental health.
Colt Gray, who was 14 at the time, faces 55 counts, including murder in the deaths of two teachers and two students, along with 25 counts of aggravated assault. Investigators said he brought the rifle to school in his book bag, with the barrel wrapped in poster board, left his second-period class and opened fire in a classroom and hallways.
Marcee Gray testified that her son had shown interest in Nikolas Cruz, who was convicted in the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. She said she believed Colt’s interest was similar to her own interest in true crime.
RELATED: Colin Gray trial: Chilling 'shrine' to Parkland shooter found in home
Prosecutors have said Colin Gray continued to buy accessories for the rifle, including "a lot of ammunition," and failed to follow through on concerns about his son’s deteriorating mental health. An investigator previously testified that Colin Gray sought counseling services weeks before the shooting and wrote, "We have had a very difficult past couple of years and he needs help. Anger, anxiety, quick to be volatile. I don’t know what to do."
Defense attorney Brian Hobbs has argued that the shooting was hidden from Colin Gray.
"That’s the difference between tragedy and criminal liability," Hobbs said previously. "You cannot hold someone criminally responsible for failing to predict what was intentionally hidden from them."
What's next:
Testimony will continue on Wednesday as jurors continue to hear evidence in the closely watched case.