The father of the teen accused of a deadly shooting at a Georgia high school, which resulted in the deaths of two teachers and two students, was charged on Thursday. This reflects a growing trend where authorities are holding parents accountable for their children’s violent behavior.

Colin Gray, 54, has been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of child cruelty by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. He was booked into the Barrow County Detention Center on Thursday night and is currently being held without bail.

Authorities report that Colt Gray, 14, used an “AR-platform style weapon” during the tragic incident at Apalachee High School on Wednesday. The young suspect is also facing four counts of felony murder, with more charges anticipated, according to the GBI.

“These charges arise because Mr. Gray knowingly allowed his son, Colt, to have access to a weapon,” stated GBI Director Chris Hosey at a press conference on Thursday night. “His charges are directly tied to his son’s actions and his decision to let him possess a weapon.”

The victims of the shooting included 14-year-olds Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, along with math teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53. An additional eight students and one teacher suffered injuries.

The charges against Colin Gray are reminiscent of an earlier case involving the parents of a 15-year-old who shot and killed four classmates at his Michigan high school. Jennifer and James Crumbley were sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter after it was revealed they had purchased a weapon for their son despite signs of potential violence.

Recent instances of parents charged for gun violence involving minors

The recent charges also followed reports from the FBI about tips received last year concerning online threats made by Colt Gray. Local officials previously interviewed Colt and his father, who insisted that his son did not have unsupervised access to the hunting firearms within their home.

“At that time, there was no probable cause for arrest or any further law enforcement measures at local, state, or federal levels,” the FBI stated Wednesday on X, previously known as Twitter.

While it’s uncommon for parents to face charges in similar cases of gun violence by minors, legal analysts have pointed out that earlier prosecutorial success could inspire stricter actions in future instances.

Nick Suplina, senior vice president for law and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety, emphasized that the actions taken by Colin and Colt Gray have devastated the Apalachee High School community. Noting the precedents set by the Crumbleys’ case, he argued that “parents must be held accountable when they neglect community safety.”

“Mr. Gray’s decision to gift his son a military-style weapon after being investigated for threats to shoot up a school is a gross failure of both gun ownership responsibility and community care,” Suplina remarked, asserting that the ruling against the Crumbleys should have been a clear warning to individuals like Mr. Gray.”

There have been other attempts to hold parents accountable for violent acts committed by their children. For example, the father of a man responsible for a mass shooting during a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, in 2022 pleaded guilty to several misdemeanors last year.

In December 2023, the mother of a 6-year-old boy in Virginia was sentenced to two years in prison for felony child neglect after her son accidentally shot his first-grade teacher, while the school’s assistant principal faced multiple felony child abuse charges for failing to address repeated warnings regarding the child’s violent behavior.

Colin Gray advised to ‘secure his firearms’

Adam Winkler, a law professor at UCLA who specializes in gun policy, highlighted earlier on Thursday, ahead of the charges being filed, that evidence from law enforcement visits last year indicated that both Colin and Colt Gray may have been aware of the risks tied to the teen’s access to firearms.

Following a sheriff’s department visit in May 2023, Colin Gray reportedly stated that he owned hunting rifles but claimed they were secured away from Colt. The lead investigator, Daniel Miller Jr., noted, “I advised Colin to ensure his firearms were locked away.”

This warning suggests that Colin was aware of the potential risks, Winkler explained. “There were valid reasons to worry about the child’s access to guns.”

Contributing: C. A. Bridges, YSL News NETWORK – Florida