State laws differ on how parents can be held responsible for violent acts committed by their children

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

While laws differ from state-to-state, the Boone County prosecutor said parents can be held responsible for violent acts committed by their children, depending on the circumstance.

Fourteen-year-old Colt Gray and his father Colin Gray both appeared in a Georgia courtroom Friday and denied entering any pleas, CNN reported. Colt Gray is accused of being responsible in the shooting deaths of two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday.

Colin Gray is accused of manslaughter, second-degree murder and child cruelty after sources say he gave his son the gun he used in the shooting as a Christmas present. This comes after Colt Gray was questioned about online threats in 2023.

This isn't the first time a parent has been charged in a school shooting. In April, James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of Michigan high school shooter Ethan Crumbley, were both sentenced to at least 10 years in prison after their son killed four people in 2021. A judge said they missed opportunities to prevent their son from having the deadly weapon.

Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson said part of the key in determining whether a parent can be charged after their child commits a crime is if the parent did something while knowing their child was a danger.

"We really all have a responsibility to try to prevent those kind of violent incidents," Johnson said. "So, when a parent knows that and then provides the child anyway with means to carry out the shooting, that could theoretically be charged even in Missouri."

Johnson said each state has different statutes when it comes to these situations, with Missouri parents generally not being held responsible for something their child does.

In Missouri, he said a parent would have to either participate in the crime or do something with the intention of their child committing the offense to be charged, though it would depend on the facts of the case. He said the closest possible charge would be manslaughter.

"In Missouri, you usually have to have some kind of voluntary action that you knowingly take," Johnson said. "You can't be criminally charged for something that you failed to do."

Meanwhile, gun control activist groups are encouraged to see Colin Gray charged in his son's shooting.

Local volunteer with the Missouri chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Kristin Bowen, said adults have to take responsibility for guns in their homes. She is disappointed Colin Gray might have voluntarily put the gun in the shooter's hands.

"It's really discouraging to hear that parents are not acknowledging the seriousness of having firearms of this kind when young people are involved," Bowen said.

When it comes to gun safety, Larry Wayland --owner of Modern Arms in Columbia -- said parents need to store guns safely in the home and educate their children about gun safety with age-appropriate material.

"Make that safe, so that (a gun) doesn't become a curiosity and something that (children) want to play with," Wayland said. "That they understand from a very young age that it's a very specific tool and needs to be treated with a lot of respect."

He said fireproof safes are the best option for storing guns, followed by any type of locking device that is tamper-resistant. He said all firearms he sells at Modern Arms also come with a disabling lock to prevent unauthorized users from using the gun.

However, Bowen said sometimes this still isn't enough. She encourages parents to go to besmartforkids.org for tips on gun safety.

"It's not enough to say 'The safe is locked,'" Bowen said. "Our kids are curious. Our kids are able to access these things. And especially as students of (Colt Gray)'s age may be dealing in crisis, we need to do better. We need to do more."

Johnson said a Missouri state statute went into effect last week that now will make parents guilty of endangering the welfare of a child if they do something to cause their child to violate the state's gun laws.