Principal Testifies About Searching Wrong Student Before School Shooting

Deigh Martin, an assistant principal at Apalachee High School, testified in Colin Gray's trial today (Wednesday, February 18) about her actions the day of the shooting. 02:09 "Had you heard of a student named Colt Gray?" "Not before the email from Ms. Harris that morning." 02:38 "Is that the email you got?" Yes." 06:00 "I could tell that she was distressed. I believe so. I think the door was closed and she was in the waiting room area, and I could, I could tell she needed to talk immediately." 06:36 "She was very nervous and obviously distressed. She told me that the book bag looked heavy and that she felt like there was definitely something in there, and I just tried to calm her down and tell her that I would handle it." 11:52 "Yeah, so I have rights as an assistant principal to act in role of a parent, and so I have more freedom to conduct searches, whereas law enforcement does not." "So you you have more authority to search a student than a law enforcement officer does?" "Correct." 13:12 "And did they bring the student out?" "Yes." "Okay. And who did they bring out?" "They brought out Colton Gray." "And do you know Colton Gray?" "I don't." "Okay. Did you know him at that time?" "I did not." 13:28 "We take him into a work room adjacent to the men's restroom, and anytime I'm conducting a search, I want to make sure they understand why they're being searched. And so I was explained to him that his first period teacher, Ms. Harris, had alerted us, and he said, 'I don't have Ms. Harris.' And I immediately knew we did not have the right student." 15:24 "he said a lot of things, but all I really understood was that she he had access to weapons. So at that point, I went to Ms. Boyd's office, still in the counseling suite, shut the door, called my principal, and said, 'You know, I think we've got a situation.'" 18:30 "This is Ms. Greer's email to me ... saying he just came back to class." 20:00 "so you're looking live on the security footage, were you able to see that the shooter was apprehended?" 21:24 "Once we got most of the students to the field, I think law enforcement was trying to keep the community away, and .... came on the radio and said, the community like, let these parents see their kids. And so we did allow the parents to come onto the field. They just couldn't leave after they came on the field." Background: A gunman killed two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on September 4, 2024. Eight students and one teacher were injured. The victims were Mason Schermerhorn, 14; Christian Angulo, 14; Richard Aspinwall, 39 and a math teacher and defensive coordinator for the school's football team; and Cristina Irimie, 53 and a math teacher. Colin Gray's oldest son, Colt Gray, is awaiting trial on 55 charges, including counts of murder and aggravated assault. The father is currently on trial for 29 charges, including involuntary manslaughter, second-degree murder, cruelty to children and reckless conduct. Prosecutors say he gave his son the rifle used in the shooting as a Christmas gift, despite being told by law enforcement to keep guns away from him. The jury was selected from Hall County instead of Barrow County because of extensive pretrial publicity in Barrow County. The trial is being held at the Barrow County Courthouse in Winder. Nicholas Primm, the chief judge in Georgia's Piedmont Judicial Circuit, is presiding. ****************************************************************************** Subscribe to Legal Affairs and Trials with Meghann Cuniff: https://www.legalaffairsandtrials.com...