Georgia school shooting: Why the suspect’s father is also charged

( NewsNation ) — Prosecutors are attributing part of the responsibility in the shooting deaths of two teachers and two students at a Georgia high school to the father of the teen accused of opening fire Wednesday.

Even though the teen is being charged as an adult, the father has also been criminally charged for his hand in allegedly not preventing the shooting, which is fair game for prosecutors, NewsNation legal analyst Sara Azari said.

“Those are mutually exclusive,” she said. “Just because he’s charged as an adult does not in any way absolve the father’s liability.”

Colt Gray, 14, was charged as an adult with four counts of felony murder in connection with the shooting at Apalachee High School, about 50 miles from Atlanta.

His father, Colin Gray, was also charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree murder and cruelty to children in relation to the killings.

Investigators haven’t gone into detail about those charges beyond saying they’re directly connected with the alleged shooter’s actions and allowing him to possess a weapon.

The two appeared together in court Friday, and neither requested bond, meaning they’ll remain in jail for now.

Gray is charged in the deaths of 14-year-old students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo and teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53.

Each count carries a maximum possible sentence of death or life in prison, Judge Currie Mingledorff said in court Friday.

By charging the father, prosecutors are making it clear that the parent is to blame for not doing more to stop his child, Azari said.

“It’s just like having more than one person guilty of the same crime. It doesn’t matter whether they’re both adults or not,” she said.

But even though he’s charged, that doesn’t mean it’ll stick, she added.

Azari said that prosecutors may have overplayed their hand by criminalizing the father’s actions. From what is publicly known, there’s not enough evidence for the dad to be guilty, she says.

“There needs to be far more than just giving access to guns,” she said, and by charging the teen as an adult, prosecutors are bringing the case into a whole new arena.

While state laws vary on the difference, there are separate sets of laws that apply to juvenile criminality.

Juvenile court is far more lenient in terms of penalties than adult court, she said.

“There’s a big distinction between the same act and the same crime if you’re charged as an adult versus charged as a juvenile.”

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