The teenage sister of accused Georgia school shooter Colt Gray told jurors Tuesday that their father, Colin Gray, pressured her to lie about what he knew of Colt's shrine to Parkland gunman Nikolas Cruz and his growing obsession with school shootings.
Testifying in the ongoing trial of Colin Gray in Winder, Georgia, the 14-year-old said she initially downplayed her father's awareness of the images and articles of Cruz displayed in a room Colt used.
She told the court she later admitted she felt pushed by her father to protect him when investigators questioned the family after the Sept. 4, 2024, Apalachee High School attack that left four people dead and nine injured, according to CNN.
Prosecutors allege Colin Gray knew about the Cruz shrine, his son's fascination with mass shooters, and earlier warnings from law enforcement, yet still gave Colt the semi-automatic rifle used in the shooting as a Christmas gift.
Jurors have already seen photographs taken by a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent showing multiple images of Cruz and news clippings about the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre taped to a wall in a computer room Colt frequented.
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The sister testified she had seen the display and heard her brother talk about school shootings before the attack. She told the jury her father discussed Colt's interest in shooters with their mother, but the parents treated it as a joke rather than a serious warning sign, the Associated Press reported.
Colin Gray faces 29 charges, including second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and cruelty to children, for allegedly enabling the 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School. Prosecutors say he ignored a series of red flags, including an earlier FBI tip about an online school threat traced to the family home and a reported search on "how to kill your dad" made from a school computer years before the attack.
Defense attorneys argue that while the shooting was horrific, Colin Gray could not have predicted his son's actions and is being unfairly blamed for a crime he did not plan or commit. They maintain that Colt hid the timing and details of the attack and that the father sought counseling for his son as his mental health worsened in the months leading up to the shooting.
The trial, now in its second week, continues on Wednesday with more witnesses expected to describe what investigators found inside the Gray home and how the attack unfolded inside the high school, as per CBS News.
