Manhunt for school shooter’s f leeing parents
THE parents of a school shooter were on the run last night after police said they had been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
A warrant was issued for James and Jennifer Crumbley after their son Ethan shot dead four students at Oxford High School, north of Detroit, Michigan, on Tuesday.
Six more were wounded, along with a teacher.
Police said the parents would be charged after buying the handgun as a Christmas gift for their son.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the couple’s lawyer told his office that the Crumbleys had stopped responding to messages. ‘If they think they’re going to get away, they’re not,’ Sheriff Bouchard said, adding that a ‘host’ of detectives, as well as the FBI and the US Marshals Service, were looking for them.
In a rare move from prosecutors, the couple were charged to show ‘gun owners have a responsibility’.
Ethan Crumbley has been charged as an adult with state murder and terror charges, while his parents have each been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, Oakland County prosecutor Karen
McDonald said. ‘These charges are intended to hold the individuals who contributed to this tragedy accountable and also send the message that gun owners have a responsibility,’ she explained yesterday.
‘While the shooter was the one who entered the high school and pulled the trigger, there are other individuals who contributed to the events on November 30 and it’s my intention to hold them accountable as well.’
While school shootings occur frequently in the US, it is unusual for parents to face charges.
James Crumbley had bought the 9mm Sig Sauer semi-automatic handgun used by his son four days earlier. Ethan was with his father for the purchase and the teenager later posted a snap of the gun online, writing ‘just got my new beauty today’ along with a heart emoji.
According to police, Ethan Crumbley recorded a video on his phone saying he was planning to launch an attack at the school the next day, but it was not posted online.
Just hours before the attack, however, Crumbley’s parents had been called into the school to talk to administrators who were concerned about violent drawings that their son had made.