Mother of Apalachee school shooting suspect testifies in father’s trial

WINDER, Ga. (CN) — The wife of Colin Gray, who is on trial for gifting their teen son the assault rifle he is accused of using to fatally shoot four people at Apalachee High School, took the stand Monday to testify about her involvement.

Just a week before the attack occurred on Sept. 4, 2024, Marcee Gray testified that she planned on taking their son, Colt Gray, to get help at a behavioral health treatment center. But Colt Gray was in Colin Gray's custody, and the father declined to follow through and get services for his struggling son, Marcee Gray said.

"Was very obvious he needed some professional help, especially for his anxiety," Marcee Gray said. She added that she also called his school counselor at the time to try to discuss his worrisome behavior.

And even on the morning of the shooting, which left several seriously injured, Marcee Gray alerted the school to find her son after he texted her, "I'm sorry, mom."

Although not officially divorced, Marcee Gray and her husband have been separated since 2022, when she moved to a different home with their two younger children.

Their oldest son, Colt Gray, didn't want to move and pack up his room and computer space, so he decided to stay with his father.

"That was his safe place," Marcee Gray said of Colt's bedroom.

Marcee Gray testified that she was never informed by Colin Gray about how the police came to his home, a year before the shooting, in response to FBI tips received of school shooting threats made online that were traced to their son.

In August 2023, Colt moved back in with his mother. She said he called her and said he was tired of getting into physical altercations and screaming battles with his father.

But the 13-year-old's behavior was noticeably different from the son Marcee Gray remembered.

"Colt's behavior was alarming," Marcee Gray said. "He had a lot of anger inside. He was very aggressive and unpredictable."

She said her son became very destructive and damaged random things around the house, such as walls and windows, which ultimately led his grandfather to call the police.

That would be the last time Colt Gray was under his mother's care, as he returned to his father's home, and Marcee Gray lost custody after failing a drug test from the Department of Family and Children Services.

When Colin Gray cut off all contact with their children's mother, she said she became "devastated and desperate" to check on them, leading to her arrest after she tied her elderly mother to a chair, took her car and drove to her husband's home hours away, where she keyed his truck in the driveway after he refused to speak with her.

"This is obviously completely irrational and inexcusable behavior," Marcee Gray said. "But I was not in a rational thinking state of mind at that point."

After Marcee Gray spent some time at a rehabilitation center, Colin Gray finally allowed her to come and see their children at his home, where she realized her oldest son's mental health issues had gone untreated.

"I think, in general, the defendant just didn't want to deal with it," Marcee Gray said.

Despite Colt Gray suffering from frequent panic attacks, his father never acquired any help for his son and instead gifted him a rifle that he allowed him to keep in his room, according to Marcee Gray.

The mother testified that her son was fixated on the gun, but Colin Gray did not have a gun safe in the home, so she urged him to lock all of his firearms in his truck, which he refused.

She said her son had expressed an interest in school shootings, but never in a way that led her to believe he was idolizing them or would follow in their footsteps.

"At the time, I likened it to my own interest to true crime shows and serial killer documentaries that are really popular," Marcee Gray said.

But Colin Gray's defense attorneys accentuated this admission, leading Marcee Gray to admit she knew her son had tried to contact Nikolas Cruz, who was convicted of the deadliest school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Defense attorney Brian Hobbs also noted she did not inform her estranged husband that school officials came to her home after their son searched "abuse" and how to kill his dad on his school-issued computer until months later.

"I did not see a mass school shooting coming," Marcee Gray said in court. "Maybe I was just not wanting to face it because I was his mother. I don’t know, but I, it was the last thing that I would have guessed."

The father faces 29 charges, including second-degree murder, manslaughter, cruelty to children and reckless conduct. Meanwhile, his now 16-year-old son is being prosecuted as an adult and awaiting his own trial.

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