Ethan Crumbley: Sheriff says suspect was ‘looking forward’ to attack as parents appear in court

Prosecutors in Michigan have charged the parents of alleged Oxford high school shooter Ethan Crumbley with four charges each of involuntary manslaughter.

During a press conference on Friday announcing the charges, Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said it was “impossible not to conclude” that the 15-year-old’s parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, could have done more to stop the mass shooting, which killed four students and injured seven people altogether. Here’s what we know about the Crumbleys, who haven’t been located and missed their scheduled arraignment on Friday.

The mass shooting at a Michigan high school this week is the latest in a two-year stretch full of record gun sales and gun violence.

Here’s how The Independent has covered this alarming trend:

The mass shooting in Oxford, Michigan, this week has shocked communities all across the country, Washington, DC, included.

Lawmakers like US Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Chris Murphy of Connecticut both gave impassioned speeches in Congress about the killings.

Watch below:

In a rare move, the parents of Ethan Crumbley, accused in the Oxford High School shooting, have been charged for involuntary manslaughter on the grounds that they failed to intervene on the day of the tragedy despite clear signals.

James and Jennifer Crumbley bought a gun and made it available to their son as well as resisted his removal from school when they were called in a few hours before the shooting, Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said.

A teacher saw Crumbley searching for ammunition on his phone when the parents were called. The mother subsequently contacted her son and told him in a text message: “Lol. I’m not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught,” according to the prosecutor.

She added that the charges against the couple are the strongest allowed under Michigan law.

Parents in the US are rarely charged in shooting incidents where a minor is involved, despite the fact that most minors get guns from a parent or an adult in the house, according to experts.

A Washington Post analysis of 105 school shootings between 1999 and 2018 found that the guns used were taken from the shooter’s home - or that of a relative or friend - in 84 cases.

However, only four of those cases saw adult owners of the weapons face criminal charges.

NBC legal analyst Danny Cevallos told the outlet that the case can perhaps “herald a new era of holding parents responsible for homicides committed by their children”.

The couple was scheduled to appear at an arraignment on Friday but they did not turn up. The police are now looking for them.

The Independent’s Megan Sheets reports on the seriousness of the charges against the couple and what punishment they could face.

Crowd of hundreds gathered outside Michigan’s McLaren Oakland hospital where the body of Justin Shilling, one of the four victims of the Oxford High School shooting, was kept on life support.

While his parents said their goodbyes to their 17-year-old son and the body was taken in for surgery, community members gathered outside with signboards for a honour walk — a common practice when a patient’s family chooses to donate organs.

The crowd consisted of students from Oxford High School, their friends, medical staff and emergency workers. Many of them wept and clapped for the Shillings as they appeared briefly on an overhead walkway. Some children held signs that read “Oxford Strong, RIP Justin”.

“We’re in this together” was written on the back of the jacket of a student who had gathered at the hospital.

Here are the highlights from the gathering:

An SUV believed to be belonging to the parents of Oxford High School shooting suspect Ethan Crumbley has been spotted by the police in Detroit’s east side area.

James and Jennifer Crumbley have been missing since they were charged with involuntary manslaughter on Friday.

Officers identified the vehicle, a black Kia SUV with number DQG 5203, around 1am on Saturday when they were searching for the couple, deputy chief Rudy Harper of the Detroit Police Department told the Detroit Free Press. The vehicle was empty.

A search is underway in Detroit after a woman believed to be Jennifer Crumbley was seen walking away from the vehicle, according to journalist Brian Entin quoting an official with the Oakland county sheriff’s office.

The Crumbleys, who prosecutors say bought a gun for their minor son and were aware of his suspicious behaviour before the shooting, were scheduled to appear for their arraignment on Friday afternoon but never showed up.

While their attorney claims they haven’t fled and had contacted the police on Friday, several agencies including the US marshals are looking for the couple and a reward has been offered for any leads.

James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of Ethan Crumbley who is accused in the Oxford High School shooting, have been arrested in Detroit early on Saturday after their SUV was found during the search, officials have said. 

The couple was found on the first floor of an industrial building on Bellevue Street, the spot where the car was seen around midnight on Friday.

Police say the owner of the building identified the black Kia SUV from the information shared by the police which led to their arreast. 

“The owner of the building arrived and saw the car in the back parking lot, knew it didn’t belong there, went to investigate," Undersheriff Mike McCabe told the Detroit Free Press on the finding of the car. 

The couple was arrested at about 1.45pm.

More details here:

Ethan Crumbley’s parents have been arrested after not appearing in court on Friday prompting a manhunt in search for them.

Jennifer and James Crumbley had been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald’s office filed the charges against James and Jennifer Crumbley, the Associated Press reported on Friday, three days after their 15-year-old son allegedly opened fire in the halls of Oxford High School, killing four classmates.

Ms McDonald announced the charges at a press conference on Friday stating that “there are other individuals who contributed to this”. “It is my intention to hold them accountable.”

Officials said the parents had ignored warning signs and called some of their actions prior to the shooting “egregious”.

Our reporter Graig Graziosi has more details below:

A deluge of “copycat threats” following Tuesday's shooting at Oxford High School prompted warnings from Oakland County law enforcement officials that false claims will be rooted out and prosecuted.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said at least 60 schools across the state as far away as Bay City had closed Thursday and Friday amid shooting threats.

Authorities had anticipated a flood of false threats, he said, but the numbers are so "completely off the charts" that they are straining resources and his staff has made a spreadsheet to track them.

The Michigan school shooting has sent shockwaves through the world as four teenagers were killed and several others injured. The fatal incident has restarted conversations about mass shootings in the US and controversial gun laws in some states.

The suspected shooter, 15-year-old sophomore Ethan Crumbley, was taken into custody by police in response to the incident at Oxford High School in Oxford Township, a community of 22,000 people 30 miles north of Detroit, and a semi-automatic handgun was recovered.

On Wednesday Mr Crumbley appeared virtually in court to hear charges of terrorism and first degree murder, to which he pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors accused him of “methodically and deliberately” firing on his fellow students.

Our reporter Joe Sommerlad has more details below on everything we know about the shooter and the incident.