School Shooter, Mom Laughed About His Fame in Jail Calls

A Georgia courtroom heard a chilling soundtrack Tuesday as prosecutors wrapped their case against school shooter Colt Gray during his sentencing hearing: recorded jail calls in which the teen and his mother laughed about his sudden infamy. In the fall 2024 calls, weeks after the Apalachee High School shooting, Gray, then 14, asked Marcee Gray about his mugshots, online "fan art," and Reddit threads comparing him to Columbine and Sandy Hook shooters, 11Alive reports. He declared, "I'm in the big leagues, bro," and joked about being a "celebrity grandson." At one point, his mother called an image of him alongside other mass shooters "awesome." When he asked if she had made a shrine, she said she would make her "Colty shrine" after she had some photos printed.

Prosecutors said the calls showed deliberate, notoriety-seeking behavior, undermining claims that mental illness drove the Sept. 4, 2024 that left four dead. A state child welfare chief testified staff "believed the mother was fueling his ongoing obsession with school shooters" and that he improved significantly after she was banned from contacting him. She said that after the no-contact order, he ate more, slept better, and seemed to become "a different child," CBS News reports. On Monday, a forensic psychologist testified that Gray became obsessed with school shooters during his "chaotic" childhood.

Candace Broce, the child welfare chief, testified that Gray had suffered abuse and neglect. She said he had apparently never seen a doctor. Earlier this year, his father, Colin Gray, was convicted of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for giving his son the weapon used in the shooting. Gray's grandmother, Debra Polhamus, said his parents failed him and that his time in prison had been beneficial, reports CBS. "I wouldn't call them terrible but they were pretty close," she said of his parents. Gray, 16, has pleaded guilty to all charges and will face a life sentence; the judge must now decide whether he'll ever be eligible for parole.