Michigan prosecutors, Oxford school district lay out timeline, details of school shooting
Prosecutors in Oakland County, Michigan, and school officials laid out over the weekend what they believe happened leading up to last Tuesday's deadly school shooting at Oxford High School. Student Ethan Crumbley, 15, will be tried as an adult for the murders of four students and related charges, and his parents were taken into custody early Saturday and charged with involuntary manslaughter.
"These two individuals could have stopped it and they had every reason to know that he was dangerous and they gave him a weapon and they didn't secure it and they allowed him free access to it," Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said during Saturday's arraignment hearing. Lawyers for James and Jennifer Crumbley said the gun was secured and accused prosecutors of cherry-picking facts.
The timeline laid out by prosecutors begins with James Crumbley purchasing a Sig Sauer SP2022 9mm handgun with Ethan on Black Friday. Ethan Crumbley posted a photo of the gun on social media over the caption: "Just got my new beauty today." Jennifer Crumbley took Ethan to a gun range the next day, a Saturday, and referred to the handgun as a Christmas present for her son, prosecutors say.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On Monday, Nov. 29, a teacher saw Ethan Crumbley searching ammunition on his cellphone, Oxford Community Schools superintendent Tim Throne told parents and staff members in a letter Saturday. A counselor and staff member met with Ethan and tried to contact his mother but did not hear back. "LOL I'm not mad at you," Jennifer Crumbley then texted her son, according to McDonald. "You have to learn not to get caught."
The next day, hours before the shooting rampage, a teacher saw a drawing by Crumbley of a gun, a bloodied person, a laughing emoji, and words including "Blood everywhere" and "The thoughts won't stop. Help me." Ethan Crumbley, pulled from class, told guidance counselors the drawing was part of a video game he was designing, Throne wrote.
James and Jennifer Crumbley were summoned to the school, asked "specific probing questions" about Ethan's potential to harm himself or others, and told to get him outside counseling within 48 hours or Children's Protective Services would be called, Throne wrote. The parents "flatly refused" to take their son home, and after the counselors determined Ethan wasn't a threat, "the decision was made he would be returned to the classroom rather than sent home to an empty house."
Hours later, shortly after Ethan Crumbley emerged from a bathroom and opened fire in a crowded hallway, prosecutors say, Jennifer Crumbley texted her son: "Ethan, don't do it," and minutes later, James Crumbly called the police to report his gun missing.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Who are undecided voters, anyway?
Talking Points They might decide the presidential election
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Wildlife populations drop a 'catastrophic' 73%
Speed Read The decline occurred between 1970 and 2020
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona kicks off swing-state early voting
Speed Read The voting began with less than a month to go before the presidential election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Father of alleged Georgia school shooter arrested
Speed Read The 14-year-old's father was arrested in connection with the deaths of two teachers and two students
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump criminal trial starts with rulings, reminder
Speed Read The first day of his historic trial over hush money payments was mostly focused on jury selection
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Parents of school shooter sentenced to 10-15 years
Speed Read Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents to be convicted in a US mass shooting
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Unlicensed dealers and black market guns
Speed Read 68,000 illegally trafficked guns were sold in a five year period, said ATF
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraud
Speed Read Former "crypto king" Sam Bankman-Fried will report to federal prison
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking case
Speed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Goon Squad' cops sentenced for torturing 2 Black men
Speed Read The former Mississippi law enforcement officers pleaded guilty last year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Michigan shooter's dad guilty of manslaughter
speed read James Crumbley failed to prevent his son from killing four students at Oxford High School in 2021
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published