Son, Father Charged in Georgia School Shooting

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Facts

  • Colt Gray, 14, and his father, Colin Gray, were arraigned in a Georgia courtroom on Friday in relation to the Wednesday shooting at Apalachee High School, where two students and two teachers were shot and killed.[1]
  • The younger Gray faces four counts of felony murder, while his father faces four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children.[1]
  • Colin Gray, whose charges total a possible 180 years in prison, was arrested Thursday. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation believes the father 'knowingly' permitted his son to have a weapon and that the AR platform-style weapon used in the shooting was a Christmas present to the son.[2]
  • Colt Gray will be tried as an adult, though due to his age, the judge overseeing the case has said he won't face the death penalty. In addition to the four killed, nine people — including seven students — were injured.[3][1]
  • The charges against Colin Gray come after the conviction earlier this year of the parents of a 15-year-old who killed four classmates in a Michigan high school shooting. They each received 10-15 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter.[4]

Sources: [1]CNN, [2]ABC News, [3]Al Jazeera and [4]USA Today.

Narratives

  • Left narrative, as provided by CBS. While police may have been able to do more to prevent this tragedy, Georgia's gun laws open the door to these incidents— and the state's 10th-place ranking for school campus gun violence shows it. It's ridiculous that there's no minimum age requirement for possession of a rifle or shotgun. Gray never should've been near a firearm in the first place.
  • Right narrative, as provided by Daily Caller. Tragedies like this aren't prevented by violating the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners. This tragedy tells us more about the level of parenting that's needed in the US. Holding parents accountable — in this case, and others — could reduce the risk of this happening again.