A shooting at Michigan’s Oxford High School left four students dead and six students and a teacher wounded. Ethan Crumbley, 15, has been arrested and charged with the following:
- One count of terrorism causing death
- Four counts of first-degree murder
- Seven counts of assault with intent to murder
- Twelve counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
His parents, after being on the run, were also arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with their son’s actions.
This is the deadliest US school shooting since the 2018 Texas’ Santa Fe High School. This is the 48th shooting this year with 32 of them occurring since August 1.
Two teachers separately reported concerning behavior from Crumbley the day before the shooting. One report said that a teacher saw and heard something that was alarming. The second report was about Crumbley’s behavior, and he was quickly brought to the office. Two meetings were held with him, one which included his parents via phone – which went unanswered – just hours before the killings.
Over a hundred 911 calls were made as police were dispatched to Oxford High School while students and staff barricaded doors and hid wherever they could. Within three minutes, the police had the suspect in custody.
The weapon used was a 9mm Sig Sauer SP2022 semiautomatic pistol which was purchased four days prior by the suspect’s father.
Thirty shell casings were recovered, and three 15-round magazines were found at the scene. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said, “With this much ammunition still with him…the quick actions of the school and the lockdown as well as the deputies going to the danger, saved lives.”
Crumbley is being held at the Oakland County Jail. His parents were charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter and were initially scheduled to be arraigned on December 3. The Crumbleys missed their court hearing and were deemed fugitives. They were arrested early December 4 in a Detroit warehouse very close to the Canadian border.
Their attorneys have said they were not fleeing and intended to turn themselves in. They pled not guilty to the four counts of involuntary manslaughter and are being held with bond set at $500,000 each.
A search of the Crumbley home has been done and Crumbley’s cell phone was seized. Two videos were found, made the night before detailing shooting and killing students at the high school. They also recovered a journal from Crumbley’s backpack which described his desire to commit the shootings.
There is currently no substantial information on whether his parents may have known of the shooting beforehand, or about him having access to the new weapon, but they are investigating.
The victims of the shooting were Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Tate Myre, 16, Hana St. Juliana, 14, and Justin Shilling, 17.
Coming off the deadliest year for gun violence – 2020 – with no gun laws even being seriously considered in Congress, it’s no surprise that shootings like this one keep happening. This year, 2021, will make history as the worst year for gun violence.
