Parole denied for Georgia teen convicted in Apalachee student killings

A Georgia teen who killed two students and two teachers at Appalachee High School will spend the rest of his life in prison

On Tuesday, a judge sentenced 16-year-old Colt Gray to life without the possibility of parole for the September 2024 school shooting that also wounded nine others

Gray showed little reaction as he stood to be handcuffed after the judge handed down the sentence

The decision came just days after he pleaded guilty to 55 counts, including four counts of murder

Four lives were stolen, two of them really just beginning. And it wasn't done out of fear or anger

You weren't being bullied at Appalachee. It wasn't done out of hatred

You didn't even know anyone at that school. It was done for the infamy of it

Your crimes do reflect permanent incorrigibility and I will send it to you

to life without parole for each of the malice murders that you committed

Prosecutors argued Gray planned the attack for more than a year and carried it out in search of fame citing his writings online posts and jailhouse phone calls Defense attorneys asked for the possibility of parole pointing to his age troubled upbringing and mental health struggles

The attack at Appalachie High School was the deadliest school shooting in Georgia history

Students returned to campus for the new school year on Friday. Meanwhile, Colt Gray's father, Colin Gray, is set to be sentenced Thursday after his conviction earlier this year

for giving his son the rifle used in the mass shooting and leaving it unsecured

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