On November 30th, 15 year old Ethan Crumbley shot and killed four people as well as wounded seven others at Oxford High School. The teenager is being charged as an adult and is facing 24 charges including four counts of first-degree murder, 12 counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, seven counts of assault with intent to murder, and one count of terrorism causing death. Along with Ethan, both his parents are being charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter for the death of Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana, and Justin Shilling. Frustration and anger grows in the families affected, knowing that the tragedy could have been prevented if the shooter’s parents were more responsible, and took more action when they noticed their son exhibiting disturbing behavior. 

There were many red flags leading up to the attack that were noticed by the shooter’s teachers and parents, but little action was taken against them.The first red flag started when Ethan’s father, James Crumbley, bought the gun that Ethan used four days prior to the shooting and Jennifer Crumbley, Ethan’s mother, posted the gun on social media saying it was “his new Christmas present”. It only escalated from there. A day before the shooting, Ethan was searching online for ammunition and was found with a disturbing drawing the day after. Hours before the shooting, one of Ethan’s teachers found a drawing in his desk that depicted a gun, a bullet, and a bleeding victim. On the drawing a note read, “The thoughts won’t stop” and “Help me”. That’s when administrations called in his parents for a meeting, telling them to find counseling for Ethan within 48 hours. Ethan claimed it was part of a video game he was designing but the school still threatened to have Child Protective Services called on the parents if they refused to find him counseling. School officials asked the Crumbleys to take their son home for the day, but they refused and left. Only a few hours later, Ethan Crumbley was said to have pulled the gun from his backpack and carried out the shooting. 

The horrible incident has prompted more advocates for gun control to speak up. Along with that, Oxford is  implementing new rules and policies to prevent anything like this from happening in the future. Ethan and his parents are being kept in separate facilities and his parents are locked up on a $500,000 bond. 

Sources: 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/12/05/michigan-school-shooting/   https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/bloody-drawings-cry-help-and-oxfords-choice-school-shooting

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2021/12/14/jennifer-james-crumbley-parents-oxford-school-shooting-suspect-bond-hearing/6509453001/