The halls of Oxford High School in Michigan echoed with the sound of screams and bullets as 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley killed 4 students and injured 7 others in the building, including a teacher. But, the Michigan School shooting didn’t just happen out of the blue. And this is why Ethan’s parents are being charged with involuntary manslaughter.
The charges are based on newfound evidence presented by prosecutors on Friday. The evidence shows text messages and other red flags that his parents ignored, leading to this tragic incident. Speaking about why the teen’s parents should be charged with involuntary manslaughter charges, Karen McDonald said:
“These charges are intended to hold the individuals who contributed to this tragedy accountable and also send a message that gun owners have a responsibility.”
Why Ethan’s parents are responsible for Michigan School Shooting?
James and Jennifer Crumbley are both being accused of being responsible for their son’s actions and, if proven guilty, will be facing around 15 years in prison.
This is because James Crumbley went a couple of days before the shooting with his son to purchase a 9mm Sig Sauer pistol. This is the same gun Ethan carried to school on November 30, 2021, and used to attack students and teachers.
The prosecutor also revealed that Ethan took a picture of the semi-automatic handgun on the same day as the purchase and shared it on his social media account. He captioned it saying:
“Just got my new beauty today [heart emoji] sig Sauer 9mm any questions I will answer.”
The very next day, Jennifer Crumbley, Ethan’s mother, shared with everyone on social media that she was testing out the semi-automatic handgun with her son. She referred to the gun as the teen’s early Christmas present.
Besides this, on November 21, one of Ethan’s teachers noticed him looking up ammunition on his phone. This behaviour is not considered normal and was reported to the school’s administration. And so, the administration took action by calling and writing an email to Jennifer Crumbley regarding the incident. However, Jennifer never responded to the school. But, she did send a text message to her son regarding the entire incident. The message read as:
“Lol, I’m not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught.”
This was not all. An investigation has revealed that the handgun found in possession of the alleged shooter was kept in the drawer unlocked. This clearly shows the parents’ careless behaviour, which ultimately leads to the tragic event.
The Day of the Shooting
New information revealed shows that the incident which took place in Oxford High School was probably pre-planned. As videos have been discovered of the night before which show Ethan talking about attacking students the very next day at his school.
Additionally, on the day of the shooting, Ethan’s teacher found something quite disturbing. She saw a note on his desk with the dreadful phrases:
“the thoughts won’t stop, help me,” “blood everywhere,” and “the world is dead.”
Furthermore, this note also had drawings of the 9mm Sig Sauer pistol along with a bullet and a person who was shot and covered in blood.
McDonald added that the parents of Ethan Crumbley were immediately called for a meeting with their son and the school’s administration. Here the school demanded the parents begin Ethan’s counselling sessions within the next 48 hours. The school also shared Ethan’s drawing with his parents, but Ethan himself scratched bits of it.
Then instead of taking their son along with them home, Ethan’s parents left school without him. Within a couple of hours of the meeting, Ethan stood up, took out his weapon and began shooting. He fired around 30 rounds in the hallway of his school, filling the minds of everyone present there with terror as they feared for their lives.
After the incident had taken place, at 1:22 p.m., Ethan’s mother sent him a text saying, “Ethan, don’t do it.” Just around 15 minutes later, James Crumbley gave 911 a call to report his missing gun and claimed that his son was probably the shooter at the Michigan school shooting.
Victims Injured and Dead at Michigan School Shooting
Out of the seven individuals that were injured, three have been released. The lives of Tate Myre, 16, Hana St. Juliana, 14, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 15, were lost during the Michigan school shooting.
Regarding the entire incident, the Oakland County prosecutor said:
“It’s imperative we prevent this from happening again. No other parent or community should have to live through this nightmare.”
Ethan Crumbley Charges
Ethan is currently looking at several charges. The 15-year-old, if proven guilty, will be punished for one count of terrorism resulting in death, four counts of first-degree murder and several other charges. The alleged criminal himself is pledging not guilty, but all the evidence points towards him.
