BARROW COUNTY, GA — Witnesses at the trial of Colin Gray, the accused Apalachee High School shooter’s father, described confusion on the morning of the shooting as they searched for the teen shooter.
The boy’s first-period teacher went to Assistant Principal Deigh Martin to share suspicions the boy had a weapon in his backpack.
“She said it was awkward and heavy and had a poster board with a sock hat on top,” Martin said.
The defense pointed out that Martin didn’t ask for a description of the boy. She ended up pulling the wrong student out of class because his name was almost identical. Forty-two minutes passed before the first gunshots.
Martin testified that she searched school photos, reviewed surveillance video, and even pulled a student with a near identical name, but was unable to locate the teen.
Testimony highlighted whether the shooting could have been stopped, showing a frantic effort by staff before the violence began.
“I could tell that she was distressed,” Martin said.
Jurors, drawn from nearby Hall County, heard a timeline of events questioning whether the shooting could have been prevented. Colin Gray’s attorney, Jimmy Berry, questioned Martin during her testimony.
Berry asked what time the shooting occurred, and Martin answered, “10:22 a.m.”
“So he had been missing then for 32 minutes, correct,” Berry asked, and Martin responded, “correct.”
On Tuesday, some Apalachee High School students testified in court about the horrors of being shot during their algebra class.
Colt Gray is accused of shooting 11 people.
Video from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was shown from inside Apalachee High School following the shooting that killed two students and two teachers.
WARNING: This video may be disturbing to some viewers.
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