Oxford school shooting: Parents of accused gunman Ethan Crumbley say they didn’t know son’s plans

Parents said they were ‘devastated’ to learn of shooting

The parents of alleged Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley, who is accused of killing four people at a high school in the town of Oxford, have told a court they were not aware of what their son was planning.

“The Crumbleys, like every parent and community member, are devastated by the school shooting,” their attorney Shannon Smith said in a court filing. “The last thing they expected was that a school shooting would take place, or that their son would be responsible.”

James and Jennifer Crumbley are facing charges of their own, involuntary manslaughter, for allegedly failing to stop the killings even though they were warned their son appeared to be considering violence. Their attorneys have asked the court to lower their bond from $500,000 to $100,000, and promised the couple would submit to electronic monitoring if released from jail.

Prosecutors have argued against this request.

The couple, though they deny this is the case, appeared to be in the midst of fleeing the country when they were arrested on 4 December. They had withdrawn $4,000 in cash from a local ATM and switched cell phones to avoid location tracking, according to officials.

A court will decide on their bond request in January.

In addition to weighing the murder charges against Ethan Crumbley, 15, who will be tried as an adult, courts will be tasked with deciding whether his parents could’ve done more to stop the mass shooting.

Ethan Crumbley’s parents bought him a gun, practiced shooting it with him, and had warning signs he was considering violence, according to the timeline laid out by officials after the shooting.

The 15-year-old was present on 26 November when his father purchased the 9mm Sig Sauer used in the shooting, and even though his dad made the purchase, it was clear Ethan Crumbley viewed the gun as for his personal use.

“Just got my new beauty today. Sig Sauer 9mm. Any questions I will answer,” Ethan posted on now-deleted social media that same day, according to officials.

The following day, he and his mother headed to a shooting range to practice with the weapon, with Jennifer describing the outing as “Mom and son day testing out his new Christmas present”.

Neither Jennifer nor James Crumbley alerted school officials that Ethan had easy access to a semi-automatic handgun, according to prosecutors, even once they had been warned he was showing interest in seeking ammunition at school and making violent drawings.

School officials tried on multiple occasions to warn the Crumbley parents that their son was allegedly considering violence at school.

In the days before the shooting, Oxford High School left both a voicemail and an email with the family that a teacher had spied Ethan searching for information about ammunition online, which was met with no response to officials.

Jennifer, however, did allegedly text Ethan, writing, “Lol I’m not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught.”

Things escalated on 30 November, the morning of the shooting, when officials called both parents into school, after finding an alarming drawing of Ethan’s that featured pictures of guns, laughing emoji, and messages like “my life is useless” and “the thoughts won’t stop, help me”.

School personnel showed the parents the drawing, advising them to put Ethan in counseling immediately, according to prosecutors.

“James and Jennifer Crumbley resisted the idea of their son leaving the school at that time. Instead Jennifer and James Crumbley left the high school without their son,” said Ms McDonald, the prosecutor.

Once there were reports that a shooting had occured at the school that day, Jennifer allegedly sent a text to Ethan that read, “Ethan, don’t do it,” while James drove straight home and reported his gun missing.

In their filing this Wednesday, attorneys for the parents said that text was Ms Crumbley pleading with her son not to kill himself, rather than an acknowledgement of knowing about plans for the shooting.