When 15-year-old sophomore Ethan Crumbley slipped into a bathroom at Oxford High School with his back-back, he came out with a 9 mm Sig-Sauer semiautomatic handgun, opening fire at his classmates, killing four and injuring 10, some serious. Oakland Count Sheriff’s Department, about 30 miles north of Detroit, are combing through a treasure trove on digital evidence that Crumbley’s rampage was premeditated. “This was not just an impulsive act,” said prosecutor Karen McDonald, saying she has plenty of evidence of premeditation. Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said his office traced the murder weapon to a Nov. 25 purchase by 45-year-old James Crumbley, raising questions for prosecutors. Michigan gun laws don’t currently hold parents accountable for teenager gun violence. Crumbley was charged as an adult with murder, attempted murder and terrorism causing death.
Asked by a judge today at his arraignment if he understood the charges against him, Crumbley said, “Yes, I do.” Yet when it comes to teenagers there are separate court proceedings for juveniles, knowing that teenagers are not capable of comprehending the consequences of their actions. Yet Judge Nancy Carniak already ordered Crumbley to relocate from juvenile detention to adult jail. “He deliberately brought the handgun that day with the intent to murder as many students as he could,” said Asst. prosecutor Marc Keast, arguing successfully to Judge Carniak to deny bail. Sheriff Bouchard said that Crumbley was called to a disciplinary meeting for problems in the classroom, only a short time before he opened fire on his classmates. While Sheriff deputies neutralized the threat with Crumbley surrendering peacefully with 10 rounds left in the Sig-Sauer’s magazine, the damage was done.
Sheriff detectives met with Ethan’s parents to determine how the teenager got his hands on his father’s newly purchased Sig-Sauer. McDonald said she was considering charges against Ethan’s parents, despite not knowing how he took the gun for his school rampage. Ethan’s massacre was the worst school shooting since the 2018 Samta Fe. Texas High School massacre where 10 students lost their lives. With all the efforts of gun control balancing out the Second Amendment, the U.S. still loses about 40,000 to gun violence every year. Parents on teenagers committing mass murder haven’t in the past been held responsible. Typical profiles of teenage mass killers involve a history of bullying and mental illness, leading to the ballistic episodes. While no one knows yet Ethan Crumbley’s history, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to find the same bullying and social problems seen in other teenage killers.
McDonald strongly considers holding Ethan’s parents accountable for making the firearm available, even by theft, by their son. “Owning a gun means securing it properly and locking it and keeping the ammunition separate,” McDonald said, hinting that Ethan’s parents would be charged. “We have to do better,” McDonald said, without giving any suggestions. “How many time does this have to happen? How many times?” expressing the exasperation balancing the Second Amendment against protection for children, families and community, now approaching a public health issue. Authorities learned too late that some warnings were given about a possible school shooting, prompting some parents to keep their children home. School officials either didn’t see the warning signs, certainly conveyed nothing to the Sheriff to provide extra police presence until the threat passed.
Robin Redding said her 12th-grade son stayed home from school because he heard there would be some kind of shooting incident. With Tate Myre, 16, Hana St. Juliana, 14, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Schilling, 17, all dead, school officials and law enforcement would have appreciate a heads up like certain students before the mayhem. “What about all the children who ran, screaming, hiding under the desks? . . . Those are victims, too, and so are their families and so is the community,” said McDonald, frustrated with another senseless repetition of teenage school violence. McDonald thinks only by holding parents accountable under current gun laws will they finally keep their gun purchases under lock-and-key, unable to gain access. While unknown yet, the sheriff hasn’t determined how Ethan got his hands on his father’s guns-and-ammo.
Ethan’s mother Jennifer Crumbley, gave some insights about her struggle with her son in a an open letter to former President Donald Trump. Jennifer said she skipped paying her car insurance to afford a tutor for her son Ethan, at that time 10-years-of-age. Jennifer blamed “common core,” for making learning next-to-impossible for her struggling son. “My son struggles daily, and my teachers tell me that they hate teaching it [Common Core] but they have to,” Jennifer Crumbly wrote. Many parents have kids struggling to keep up academically that don’t turn into mass killers. So when it comes to Ethan, a picture will eventually come out that he was deeply troubled, maladjusted, depressed, unable to fit in, possibly bullied or singled out by his peers. Ethan’s mother Jennifer expressed her gratitude to Trump. “Thank you for respecting that Amendment,” Jennifer wrote to Trump.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
