BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Prosecutor criticizes school over run-up to mass shooting

Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald addresses the media in her office, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021, in Pontiac, Mich. McDonald filed involuntary manslaughter charges against Jennifer and James Crumbley, the parents of 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, who is accused of killing four students at a Michigan high school. McDonald says the gun used in the shootings at Oxford High School was purchased by James Crumbley a week ago and given to the boy. (Max Ortiz/Detroit News via AP)

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

ovp test

mLife Diagnostics LLC: Oral Fluid Drug Testing

Male shot by female at Shreveport apartment

Class to create biodiverse backyard

Rules for outbursts at Caddo School Board Meeting

OXFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — The prosecutor overseeing the case against the student accused in last week’s deadly Michigan school shooting and who took the rare step of charging his parents left open the possibility Monday that school officials could also face charges, saying “in this case, a lot could have been done different.”

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said the investigation’s findings will determine whether school officials will be charged in last Tuesday’s attack at Oxford High School.

But she noted that three hours before Ethan Crumbley allegedly opened fire, killing four fellow students and wounding six others and a teacher, the 15-year-old was sent back to class after a meeting between school counselors and his parents over a drawing a teacher found on his desk that included a bullet and the words “blood everywhere.”

“In this case, a lot could have been done different. I mean, at that meeting he was allowed to go back to school,” she said Monday during an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

“We know that he either had that weapon with him or someplace where he could have stored it in the school. But he had it in the school, there’s no question. And leaving the decision to parents about whether he goes home or not …” she added, not finishing the sentence.

Tim Throne, superintendent of the Oxford School District, said Crumbley and his parents met with counselors on the day of the shooting. He said counselors found the teen “calm” and didn’t believe he would harm others.

The parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, were asked to take their son home but “flatly refused,” Throne said.

Throne said a third party will investigate the events that occurred before the school shooting in Oxford Township, a community of about 23,000 people roughly 30 miles north of Detroit. On Sunday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said her office might conduct the probe.

Ethan Crumbley has been charged as an adult with murder, terrorism and other crimes in the attack. And McDonald filed involuntary manslaughter charges against his parents, saying they failed to intervene on the day of the tragedy despite being confronted with the drawing and its disturbing message.

McDonald said Monday that Crumbley’s parents did not mention during the meeting at the school that Ethan had access to a 9mm semi-automatic pistol. Authorities say he used the gun to carry out the attack, and that his father bought it for him at a local gun shop on Black Friday as an early Christmas present. Although the gun was legally sold to James Crumbley, minors in Michigan cannot possess guns except in limited situations, such as when hunting with an adult.

“You can’t even in an airport mention anything that even remotely indicates that there might be some sort of violence on a plane. You’ll be immediately extracted. And yet we have a kid who is … saying some pretty concerning things and he was allowed to go back to school, and neither parent mentions that he had access to a weapon,” McDonald said.

McDonald said prosecutors have evidence suggesting that the couple “purchased that weapon for their 15-year-old and bragged about it online — thought this was some joyous occasion as a present.”

And she said the teen had access to the gun “whether it was locked or not” at his family’s home.

The parents were taken into custody early Saturday after they were caught hiding inside the Detroit studio of artist Andrzej Sikora. The artist’s attorney said Sunday that he is cooperating with investigators and didn’t know the couple were facing charges or that they had stayed overnight at his studio while authorities were searching for them.

The couple’s attorneys have said they didn’t intend to flee.

Midwest

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241202111905

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Partly Cloudy

la

51°F Partly Cloudy Feels like 51°
Wind
1 mph NW
Humidity
85%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Areas of fog. Low near 50F. Winds light and variable.
50°F Areas of fog. Low near 50F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
2 mph ENE
Precip
4%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waxing Crescent