ATLANTA — The father of the Apalachee High School shooting suspect is requesting a change of venue for his upcoming trial due to Barrow County being a community where a feeling is “strongly set against him," attorneys said in a motion.

Colin Gray is facing 29 charges, including two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, five counts of reckless conduct and 20 counts of child cruelty after prosecutors say he knowingly allowed his 14-year-old son, Colt Gray, to possess a gun. If convicted, he faces life in prison.

His attorneys argue that not changing the venue for his trial would violate his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury.

Colin Gray argued in the motion, filed Sunday, that every news outlet in the Atlanta and surrounding area has published and broadcasted “articles describing the acts with which the defendant is charged,” including information the court hasn’t yet deemed admissible to a jury.

Also, Gray argued, victims of the Sept. 4 shooting at Apalachee High School, including two students —Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn — and two teachers — Cristina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall — who died and many others who were injured were “well-known citizens” of Barrow County with high public visibility.

Allegations about the deaths and injuries of those people might “evoke great passion and prejudice in the community,” Gray said in the filing.

Colin Gray was taking into custody in September and continues to be held at the Barrow County Jail. Last month, Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm granted Colin Gray a $500,000 bond and ordered 10% to be paid in cash and no contact with witnesses. Prosecutors had asked for a bond of more than $1 million.

“This case is an open sore. It’s a wound that continues to hurt the community. While in court, Mr. Gray is presumed innocent, in the court of public opinion he bears a scarlet letter,” Primm said before granting bond.

Gray is expected to live with his sister in Cherokee County, if he makes bail.

The prosecution of Colin Gray is believed to be the first of its kind in Georgia and only the second nationally, after the parents of a Michigan school shooter were convicted of involuntary manslaughter. In both cases, the parents were accused of ignoring warning signs that their children could be capable of violence and allowing the children access to guns.

The indictment alleges Colin Gray allowed his son Colt Gray “access to a firearm and ammunition after receiving sufficient warning that Colt Gray would harm and endanger the bodily safety of another” and caused “with criminal negligence” the death of the four victims.

During a preliminary hearing in October, Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents testified Colin Gray had purchased a SIG Sauer M400, which was allegedly used in the shooting, as a Christmas gift for his son in 2023.

Colt Gray was indicted on 55 charges including felony murder, malice murder, aggravated battery, cruelty to children in the first degree and aggravated assault. He pleaded not guilty, waived arraignment and did not appear in court in November.

The teen’s attorneys, along with prosecutors and Judge Primm, held a scheduling status conference over Zoom in February in which they all agreed to delay the case from its planned February jury trial, saying the case wouldn’t be ready in time.

Colt Gray’s next court date is set for May 6.

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