Colt Gray, accused of school shooting in Georgia, and his father Colin appear in court for the first time

Colt Gray, 14, and his father, Colin Gray, had separate court hearings Friday to face murder and other charges in connection with the shooting at Georgia's Apalachee High School that left four people dead and nine injured. Colt Gray is seen in a Wednesday admissions photo. Photo courtesy of Barrow County Sheriff's Office/UPI

Barrow County Superior Court Judge Currie Mingledorff told the teenager that if convicted, he could face life in prison – the maximum sentence given Gray's age. An adult could have faced the death penalty.

While the victims' families were in the courtroom, Colt Gray appeared briefly in handcuffs and chains, wearing a green shirt and tan pants.

Judge Mingledorff told Colin Gray that he could receive 30 years in prison for each count of first-degree murder and up to 10 years for the manslaughter counts. He also faces up to 10 years in prison for each of the eight counts of child abuse.

The defendants did not enter any pleas during the hearings or request bail.

Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, told reporters that the charges against the father were based on the fact that “Mr. Gray knowingly allowed his son, Colt, to possess a firearm.”

Two students – 14-year-olds Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo – and two teachers – Richard Aspenwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 5300 – were killed and nine others injured in the shooting at Apalachee High School in the Atlanta suburb of Winder City on Wednesday.

Colt Gray is accused of shooting the victims with an AR rifle.

According to an aunt of Colt Gray, the 14-year-old man accused of murder had been begging for help with his mental health for “months” before he allegedly carried out the school massacre.

Annie Brown said the adults around him had let him down.

She said Gray's grandmother went to see a school counselor last week and said in a text message a week before the suspected shooter's attack that he was “starting therapy tomorrow.”