‘It’s a good day;’ Barrow County community reacts to Colin Gray’s murder conviction

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — The Barrow County Board of Education opened its meeting Tuesday night by acknowledging the conviction of Colin Gray, whose son is the accused shooter in the Apalachee school shooting.

Lisa Maloof, Barrow County Board of Education chair, thanked the community and the district attorney’s office for supporting students, staff and families.

“We pay tribute to the heroism of our students, staff and community whose selfless actions have helped others,” said Maloof.

Colin Gray was found guilty on 27 counts.

“It’s a good day, still very surreal,” said Jud Smith, sheriff of Barrow County. “Colin knew the signs were there, the evidence was there, and he made a poor decision allowing him to have a very dangerous weapon that can harm other human beings.”

“Not everybody needs to be a parent,” said Smith.

Sheriff Smith said his department spent the last year and a half gathering evidence for the prosecution before he took the stand to testify early in the trial.

“Great decision that our jury was able to make an informed decision and that our system worked,” Smith said. Smith said District Attorney Brad Smith, “did an impeccable job with his team. Cannot say enough about him, what he presented from the beginning, beginning to end.”

Prosecutors said Colin’s son, Colt Gray, is the alleged shooter.

“We still have work to do. Some people say the alleged shooter, I don’t,” Smith said.

“Unfortunately, this trial brought out a lot of what happened by the second that morning, and there were a lot of failures,” said William Philip, an Apalachee High School parent.

Gray’s guilty verdict has prompted some parents and community members to call for more written safety protocols from the board of education.

Philip said he does not fault anybody, and hindsight is “troublesome.”

“I want to see them explain how what happened that morning won’t happen again. And if they can’t do that, we need people that will, that’s common sense,” Philip said. “How will we not lose a student again for 40 minutes, especially one that may be suspected of having a weapon? How do we do that? These are little holes we’re trying to get filled.”

The school board on Tuesday said its focus remains on being present for students, staff and families, plus prioritizing well-being, comfort and education.

“We will continue to heal, to support one another and to overcome. And we will never forget,” Maloof said.

Smith said it’s a painful reminder.

“We’re still reeling from the tragedy. We have a lot of families that are still jarred from that, a lot of young people that are still struggling. Our community is still struggling, but it helps us heal knowing that justice, a little bit of justice, was served today,” Smith said.

“It’s very emotional. It’s still the scars are very deep. Our community is still rocked by it. Maybe this will put to rest some some fears and anxiety that our people have had, and our community and our kids. But you know what, I still applaud our kids that go to school every day. I applaud our staff that still goes to school every day. I applaud our first responders, and I applaud our community. Because you know, the one thing that that Colt didn’t account for is the resilience our community has and will always have,” Smith said.

Colin Gray’s trial: Full coverage

• Apalachee High School community reacts to guilty verdict in Colin Gray trial
• Colin Gray guilty on all charges related to Apalachee High School shooting
• Jury now deliberating in Colin Gray’s trial
• Father of accused Apalachee High School shooter testifies in his trial
• Prosecution rests in trial of the father of accused Apalachee school shooter
• ‘Why ... would he do this?’ | Jurors hear accused Apalachee shooter’s father’s police statement
• GBI to father of accused Apalachee school shooter: ‘This is not your fault’
• Accused Apalachee shooter’s mom testifies in husband’s trial
• ‘God, I knew it’ | Trial reveals pattern of threats, warnings before Apalachee shooting
• ‘We were just kids’: Apalachee survivor recounts facing shooter in emotional testimony
• Colin Gray’s Apalachee school shooting trial | What you need to know
• Full coverage of the Apalachee High School shooting