Jury The man was quickly convicted Who gave his son a gun linked to the fatal shooting of two students and teachers at a Georgia high school is the latest American parent to stand trial when a child is accused of violence.
Prosecutors have expanded liability beyond the shooters if they believe there is evidence that a parent contributed to the tragedy.
Colin Gray was found guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter Tuesday in the 2024 shooting at Appalachian High School in Winder, northeast of Atlanta. Colt Gray, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, has pleaded not guilty to a host of charges.
Prosecutors said Colin Gray allowed his son to have a gun and ammunition despite knowing his mental health was deteriorating.
Look at other cases:
In Wisconsin, Jeffrey Rubino Charged – Intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a person under the age of 18, causing death. In 2024, his daughter, Natalie Rubenau, 15, a student and teacher at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, killed herself.
Prosecutors said Robinau told investigators that his daughter was struggling to deal with her parents’ divorce and that he bought her guns as a way to communicate with her.
Robinau’s attorney argued that he acted reasonably. Natalie passed a gun safety course, and Robinau took the extra step of keeping the guns in a safe, Lisa Goldman said at a hearing in July 2025.
Jennifer and James Crombley were the first American parents held criminally liable for a mass school shooting Committed by a child. They serve 10-year prison sentences Charged with manslaughter.
Their son, Ethan Crumpley, killed four students and injured others at Oxford High School in Michigan in 2021. The school revealed his violent drawings to Crumpley’s family a few hours before the shooting, but they refused to send him home. No one checked his heavy bag for a gun.
The Crombleys were unaware of their son’s plans, but had given them a gun as a gift a few days earlier. Prosecutors said Ethan’s actions were predictable and that the Crombleys failed to prevent the violence.
Robert Cremo Jr He pleaded guilty to misdemeanors For upholding his son’s gun permit in Illinois in 2019 despite knowing that Robert Cremo III had expressed suicidal thoughts.
Three years later, Cremo III Seven people were killed At the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, a suburb north of Chicago.
“He was criminally reckless the moment he made that statement,” prosecutor Eric Reinhart said of the father.
Cremo Jr. was sentenced to 60 days in prison. His son is He is serving a life sentence After pleading guilty in March to murder.
Deja Taylor was tried in state and federal court after her 6-year-old son took her gun to school and Teacher injured In a classroom full of students in Newport News, Virginia, in 2023.
Taylor was sentenced 21 months in federal prison On a drug-related offense linked to the possession of a firearm. Separately, she was sentenced to two years in state prison Child neglect.
“This is my son, so I, as a parent, am obviously willing to take responsibility for him because he can’t take responsibility for himself,” Taylor told “Good Morning America” in 2023.
Teacher Abigail Zwirner told the judge she was unsure “whether this would be my last moment on earth.”