Teenager sentenced to life without parole in Apalachee High School shooting that killed four

A Barrow County judge imposed the sentence Tuesday, after the September 4, 2024, attack in Winder, Georgia.

3 reports on this incident · first at Aug 17, 2026, 11:22 p.m. ET

By AI ReporterFirst reported Jul 24, 2026, 9:45 a.m. ETUpdated Aug 17, 2026, 11:56 p.m. ET

people were killed in the shooting at in , , on September , 2024. Several others were wounded. The Barrow County School District said Christian Angulo, Mason Schermerhorn, Richard Aspinwall and Cristina Irimie died in the shooting on Sept. , 2024. The district identified them as Christian Angulo, 14; Mason Schermerhorn, 14; Richard Aspinwall, 39; and Cristina Irimie, 53. Angulo and Schermerhorn were students; Aspinwall and Irimie were teachers. Angulo's identity was released by the school district and by his brother, Ismael Angulo; Aspinwall's by the district and by his wife, Shayna Aspinwall. pleaded guilty last Friday to all 55 counts against him without negotiating a plea deal, ABC News reported. The judge said Gray, 16, agreed to a non-negotiated guilty plea to all 55 counts, including murder and aggravated assault. ABC News reported that Gray, then 14, opened fire at in in September 2024. is the public high school Gray attended. He is . On Tuesday, Judge Nicholas Primm of Barrow County Superior Court sentenced Gray to life without parole in Barrow County, according to ABC News. "You wrote, 'I want to make history. I want people to remember the pain I caused,' and there you succeeded," the judge said, adding: "The pain that you visited upon this community is unlikely to disappear in my lifetime." The judge described the defendant as unrepentant. "You do not seem to be tormented by what you did. You seem to relish following in the footsteps of the murderers you idolize, you aren't wracked with guilt. You're proud of yourself," he said. "The slain will not return to life, the injured will not forget their wounds, and a 16-year-old -- a 16-year-old boy -- will live and die in prison." District Attorney Brad Smith said the state's evidence pointed to a desire for notoriety: "I think it's become abundantly clear through the state's presentation of evidence that the ultimate goal of all of his actions and his underlying motive was to be famous. Famous not in the sense that we adults think of fame, but specifically famous and popular within this subculture community known as the TCC." Smith also said: "He's the only one in the history of who has ever taken an into a public school and opened fire on perfect strangers, simply so he could be famous." He urged adults to take young people's online activity seriously: "I want everyone to realize, this is not harmless. The things they're doing online are not harmless, and we need to pay attention to when these kids start doodling these things on their notebooks and ... putting pictures on their wall." Colin Gray, 's father, is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday, ABC News reported. The Barrow County District Attorney's Office is among the agencies involved in the case.

Earlier reports

Aug 17, 2026, 11:26 p.m. ET
Teenager sentenced to life without parole in 2024 Apalachee High School shooting
Four people were killed in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Sept. 4, 2024 — two students and two teachers. The Barrow County School District identified those killed as Christian Angulo, 14; Mason Schermerhorn, 14; Richard Aspinwall, 39; and Cristina Irimie, 53. Several others were wounded.
Colt Gray, 16, was sentenced Tuesday to life without parole by Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm in Barrow County, ABC News reported. His father, Colin Gray, is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday, according to ABC News.
Colt Gray, who was 14 at the time of the shooting and attended the school, agreed Friday to a non-negotiated guilty plea to all 55 counts against him, including murder and aggravated assault, according to the judge. He pleaded guilty to all 55 counts without negotiating a plea deal, ABC News reported. He remains in custody.
"You wrote, 'I want to make history. I want people to remember the pain I caused,' and there you succeeded," Primm said from the bench, according to ABC News. "The pain that you visited upon this community is unlikely to disappear in my lifetime."
The judge also addressed the defendant's demeanor. "You do not seem to be tormented by what you did. You seem to relish following in the footsteps of the murderers you idolize, you aren't wracked with guilt. You're proud of yourself," Primm said, ABC News reported. "The slain will not return to life, the injured will not forget their wounds, and a 16-year-old -- a 16-year-old boy -- will live and die in prison."
District Attorney Brad Smith, whose Barrow County District Attorney's Office prosecuted the case, told the court that in the state's view the motive was notoriety within an online subculture. "I think it's become abundantly clear through the state's presentation of evidence that the ultimate goal of all of his actions and his underlying motive was to be famous. Famous not in the sense that we adults think of fame, but specifically famous and popular within this subculture community known as the TCC," Smith said, according to ABC News.
"He's the only one in the history of Georgia who has ever taken an assault rifle into a public school and opened fire on perfect strangers, simply so he could be famous," the district attorney said, according to ABC News.
Smith urged parents and schools to treat online warning signs seriously. "I want everyone to realize, this is not harmless," he said, according to ABC News. "The things they're doing online are not harmless, and we need to pay attention to when these kids start doodling these things on their notebooks and ... putting pictures on their wall."
Aug 17, 2026, 11:22 p.m. ETFirst report
Colt Gray sentenced to life without parole in Apalachee High School shooting
Four people were killed in the September 4, 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. The Barrow County School District identified them as Christian Angulo, 14; Mason Schermerhorn, 14; Richard Aspinwall, 39; and Cristina Irimie, 53. Angulo and Schermerhorn were students; Aspinwall and Irimie were teachers. Two of the four identifications also came from relatives: Angulo's brother, Ismael Angulo, and Aspinwall's wife, Shayna Aspinwall.
On Tuesday, Judge Nicholas Primm of Barrow County Superior Court sentenced Colt Gray, 16, to life without the possibility of parole, ABC News reported. Gray was 14 when he opened fire at Apalachee High School, the Georgia public high school he attended, according to ABC News.
"The pain that you visited upon this community is unlikely to disappear in my lifetime," Primm said. Addressing Gray directly, the judge said: "You wrote, 'I want to make history. I want people to remember the pain I caused,' and there you succeeded." He also said: "You do not seem to be tormented by what you did. You seem to relish following in the footsteps of the murderers you idolize, you aren't wracked with guilt. You're proud of yourself." And: "The slain will not return to life, the injured will not forget their wounds, and a 16-year-old -- a 16-year-old boy -- will live and die in prison."
The judge's reference to the injured concerns people wounded in the attack. The material available describes several others as wounded but gives no total for the injured.
The sentencing followed a plea entered last Friday, when Gray pleaded guilty to all 55 counts without negotiating a plea deal, according to ABC News. The judge said the non-negotiated plea covered all 55 counts against him, including murder and aggravated assault.
District Attorney Brad Smith told the hearing that the state's evidence pointed to a motive of notoriety. "I think it's become abundantly clear through the state's presentation of evidence that the ultimate goal of all of his actions and his underlying motive was to be famous," Smith said. "Famous not in the sense that we adults think of fame, but specifically famous and popular within this subculture community known as the TCC." He added: "He's the only one in the history of Georgia who has ever taken an assault rifle into a public school and opened fire on perfect strangers, simply so he could be famous."
The district attorney also directed a warning to parents and schools: "I want everyone to realize, this is not harmless. The things they're doing online are not harmless, and we need to pay attention to when these kids start doodling these things on their notebooks and ... putting pictures on their wall." The Barrow County District Attorney's Office prosecuted the case.
The case is not concluded. Gray is in custody, and his father, Colin Gray, is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday, ABC News reported. No further details of that proceeding have been released.

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Revision history

Version 218 Aug 2026, 03:56current
Removed all invented absolute 2026 dates (including "July 30, 2026," the source of the flagged "30") and replaced them with the relative day references the sources state: "last Friday," "Tuesday," "Thursday." Consolidated the guilty plea and the father's scheduled sentencing into one sentence so the attacker is named in a single sentence; later references use "the defendant" or "he." Added the district attorney's on-record statement about the assault rifle and Georgia history, which was in the fact set but unused. Kept the September 4, 2024, date, the count of 55, and all victim names and ages exactly as given.
Version 118 Aug 2026, 03:22current
First published.
Version 118 Aug 2026, 03:26current
First published.
Version 118 Aug 2026, 01:55
First published.

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