Overview
- Court filings show Colt Gray is scheduled for a non‑negotiated plea and sentencing hearing on July 24, 2026, a filing that indicates he intends to change his earlier not‑guilty plea.
- Gray was 14 at the time of the Sept. 4, 2024 attack, is now 16 and faces 55 counts including malice and felony murder with a maximum exposure of about 180 years in prison.
- Investigators say Gray brought an AR‑style rifle onto a school bus, prepared the weapon in a bathroom, opened fire in a classroom and hallways and then surrendered when confronted by officers.
- A Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent testified that prosecutors recovered a notebook with step‑by‑step instructions and a classroom diagram estimating casualties, which prosecutors cite as evidence of premeditation.
- Colin Gray was convicted in March of murder and related charges for buying and leaving the rifle accessible and is set for sentencing later this month, a development prosecutors say highlights adult responsibility, gaps in DFCS oversight and questions about access to mental‑health care.