A school shooter who unleashed hell on a Georgia high school nearly two years ago has been sentenced to life in prison after it was revealed that he seemed excited from his jail cell when his mom informed him he was gaining attention online. Colt Gray, now 16, pleaded guilty last Friday to 55 counts, including murder, for a horrific shooting he perpetrated on September 4, 2024, that claimed the lives of two teachers and two 14-year-old students. Gray appeared in court on Tuesday in front of Barrow County Judge Nicholas Primm and received his fate of life in prison without the possibility of parole. During the hearing, prosecutors played disturbing audio footage of phone calls with his mother, Marcee Gray, who described the 'fan art' drawings she saw online of her son. Gray asked his mother about the engagement his posts were getting, and seemed excited when she said it was a lot. She told her son that she would print some of the posts to show him, and even said she would keep some for herself. In one particularly haunting call, Marcee Gray promised her son she would make a 'Colty Shrine' in honor of him.

In another instance, she asked him about a request from a journalist who wanted to make a documentary about the case, to which he replied, 'Yes. Go for it.' Prosecutors argued that Gray's conversations with his mother and a documented fascination for school shootings proved he had carefully planned the heinous attack. Investigators echoed a similar sentiment in court. Ashley Gilleland, an investigator with the district attorney's office, testified that Gray idolized mass shooters and chatted with people online about his admiration of them. Prosecutors read aloud some of the messages he posted on the platform, Discord, including, 'I want people to remember the pain I caused and research me for hours.'

In another message, he referred to Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz, writing, 'My love for Nik has formed into something in which I can find no other resort that can prove my love and affection towards him.' Marcee Gray testified at a hearing in February that she was aware that her son had an interest in Cruz. Prosecutors had described a 'shrine' to Cruz that he kept on a wall next to his computer. Forensic psychologist Dr Kevin Richards also testified in court that Cruz had fascinations with Adam Lanza, who killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, as well as James Holmes, who killed a dozen people in a Colorado movie theater.

Gray pleaded guilty to four counts of murder for the deaths of teachers Richard 'Ricky' Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, seven of them hit by gunfire. The case also marked a precedent of convicting parents for their roles in the crimes of their children. Gray's father, Colin Gray, was found guilty of murder and manslaughter in March for purchasing the firearm and keeping it unsecured.