BARROW COUNTY, Ga. — The accused Apalachee High School shooter may never face a jury, and families are responding to the idea.
“I definitely think that it’s difficult to decipher what we, as a community, would want,” said Layla Renee Contreras.
Contreras’ mother and sister were inside the school in September 2024 when gunfire erupted, killing two students and two teachers. Nine people were hospitalized.
At a hearing Tuesday, attorneys discussed the idea of a non-negotiated plea deal. In that case, Colt Gray would plead guilty, and a judge would determine his sentence.
“I understand people do want to hear the trial. Also, it has been a lot,” said Contreras.
She said a trial would mean reliving the trauma. Tuesday afternoon, the family of one of the Math teachers killed, Coach Ricky Aspinwall, pointed that out after the hearing.
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“If he wants to plead guilty, it would just be a better route for everybody, get it behind us,” said Kevin Zinke.
“Whatever they feel is what I support,” said Contreras.
Contreras has been at every school board meeting since the shooting. She’s leading the push for faster security upgrades.
She spoke in January when deputies said a student got a gun on campus. In February, she spoke after a student trespassing incident. This week, she signed up to speak about communication connected to fake threats that led to the lockdown last Friday.
“Friday, that event did bring up a lot of panic, more distrust in the system, as well,” said Contreras.
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The Board of Education did not allow her to speak, citing a regulation that allows them to deny public participation when someone plans to speak on the same topic. They ended the meeting without discussing the latest lockdown.
“I wouldn’t want to speak about it if there were improvements,” said Contreras.
Before the meeting, board members said they would not make themselves available for comment.
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