The parents of the Michigan school shooting suspect have been charged with manslaughter for allowing their son to have a gun.
The Crumbleys are accused of four counts of manslaughter, according to Karen McDonald.
She said that the charges were intended to hold the individuals who contributed to this tragedy accountable and send a message that gun owners have a responsibility. They failed to uphold that responsibility.
Four students were killed. A teacher was injured.
McDonald wouldn't say if the parents were in custody.
The prosecutor said that the parents were to blame for the shooting at Oxford High School on Tuesday because they bought a gun for the 15-year-old suspect. McDonald said that on the day after, Crumbley posted on social media, "mom and son day testing out his new Christmas present."
McDonald said that a teacher at Oxford High saw the suspect looking up bullets on his phone and reported it to school officials. A call from the school to his mom went to voicemail, and officials indicated that they followed up with an email, but neither parent responded.
However, investigators discovered that Crumbley had sent a text to her son about being contacted by the school. You have to learn not to be caught.
McDonald said that on the morning of the shooting, another teacher found a note on the suspect's desk that had a drawing of a handgun, a bullet, and a bleeding person with what appeared to be two gunshot wounds.
"The thoughts won't stop help me" and "blood everywhere" were on the note. There was a drawing of a laughing emoji, as well as quotes that said "My life is useless" and "The world is dead."
The teacher who found the note took a photo of it on her phone and the Crumbleys were summoned to the school. The suspect was called in with his backpack by the school counselor, but he already had altered the drawings and scratched some parts.
The gun that was used in the shooting was in the suspect's backpack during the meeting, according to investigators.
His parents were told to get their son into counseling within 48 hours after seeing the note.
McDonald said that both James and Jennifer Crumbley failed to ask their son if he had his gun with him or where his gun was located, and failed to inspect his backpack for the presence of the gun.
She said that they resisted the idea of their son leaving the school at that time.
After news outlets reported a shooting at Oxford High, which authorities said happened shortly before 1 p.m., the mother of the shooter sent her son a text saying, "Ethan, don't do it."
James Crumbley called the emergency services to report that his gun was missing and that his son may have been the school shooter. McDonald said that the father went to look for his gun after hearing about the shooting.
The suspect's parents were at the school on the day of the shooting, Tim Throne acknowledged in a video Thursday. He said that no discipline was needed. There are no discipline records at the high school.
Throne didn't respond to questions about why the suspect's behavior didn't warrant punishment.
McDonald called Michigan's gun laws "woefully inadequate" in her Friday press conference. She said that the Crumbleys failed to take responsibility for owning a gun.
I'm not saying that people shouldn't own guns. McDonald said that he knows a lot of people who own guns. It's your responsibility to make sure that you don't give access to this deadly weapon to someone that you have reason to believe is going to harm someone.
McDonald brought charges against the parents because they knew about the suspect's behavior before the shooting.
McDonald said that the notion that a parent could read the words on the note and also know that their son had access to a deadly weapon is unconscionable. I think it's a crime.
The 15-year-old was charged with terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder, and 12 counts of possession of a firearm in commitment of a felony. He could be sentenced to life in prison if he is convicted as an adult.
He has denied the charges.
