OXFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – The 15-year-old student accused of opening fire on his classmates at a suburban Michigan high school, killing four and injuring seven others Tuesday, has faced a mass crime on Wednesday as authorities released more details about the events leading up to the attack.
Prosecutor Karen McDonald identified the teenager as Ethan Crumbley, a sophomore at Oxford High School, noting that he will be charged as an adult with charges including first-degree murder and terrorism. Later in the day, the suspect pleaded not guilty to all charges. District Court Judge Nancy Carniak denied the bond.
The charges come as more information becomes available about the suspect: authorities say they found a video taken the day before the attack where he threatened to shoot the student dead and a diary where he wrote about killing a classmate. They also noted the suspect’s “disturbing behavior” at the high school, including one that sent his parents to school less than three hours before the attack.
The suspect allegedly opened fire at a school in Oxford Township, a suburb about 35 miles north of Detroit, firing what sheriff’s deputies believe to be 30 rounds.
The authorities say that the teenager used a handgun purchased by his father on Black Friday, just a few days before the attack. McDonald’s said her office is reviewing criminal charges against the suspect’s parents. She says responsible gun ownership is crucial to help prevent such tragedies and that “those who fail to do so must – and will – be held accountable.”
McDonald’s went through a list of victims, including a fourth person who died Wednesday: Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14 years old; Madisyn Baldwin, 17 years old; and Justin Shilling, 17. McDonald said she is a parent and will “treat this case as if these were my children.”
She said there is a “mountain of digital evidence,” including videos and social media posts that show Tuesday’s attack was planned “in advance.”
Authorities said the suspect arrived at the school with a plan.
“He did it with the intention of killing people. He was shooting people at close range, usually towards the head or chest,” Sheriff Michael Bouchard said on CNN early Wednesday. “It’s chilling. It’s purely a cold-blooded killer. ”
Students describe a chaotic scene when a voice passed through the intercom to announce an active shooter. Some didn’t know if it was a drill or not. The teachers hurriedly locked the doors, fenced the windows and covered the windows. Students shed tears and texted loved ones.
‘Open door’:Chilling video shows Michigan students escaping through windows while filming
Abbey Hodder, 15, a sophomore, was in a chemistry class when she thought she heard glass breaking.
“My teacher had run out and was running all over the place,” she said, describing how she and her classmates watched their active shooting training. “The next thing I knew I saw him pushing the table. It was part of the school process to barricade, so we all know, barrier, barricade down. And all of us. start pushing the table.”
The suspect’s father had bought the gun a few days earlier; Warning signs may be investigated
Bouchard said that The suspect’s father bought the gun on Friday and that the teen posted a picture of the gun online days before the shooting happened.
Secretary of State Michael McCabe acknowledged there were rumors about the warning signs and said they were being investigated. At least one parent told the Associated Press that her son was not attending school out of fear that something might happen.
“He just said, ‘Mom, I don’t feel comfortable. None of the kids that we go to school with will go to school today,” Robin Redding, whose son is in 12th grade, told the news agency.
Authorities, appearing in court on Wednesday, read out the suspect’s arrest warrant, detailing a video he made the night before the attack where he “talks about shooting and killing students the next day,” said Sheriff Tim Willis’s Office.
Willis said authorities also found a diary where the suspect wrote about his “desire” to kill his classmate. He also noted that he searched the suspect’s social media accounts, including photos of the gun he used in the attack.
The ‘pandemic’ of gun violence in the US:Oxford High School in Michigan is the 28th shooting range of 2021
Bouchard said the suspect was flagged twice by school staff for “behavior involvement” prior to the attack. The first occurred a day before the shooting and the second just hours before the attack.
Bouchard said the suspect’s parents were brought to the school at around 10 a.m. for a meeting with students and school staff, about three hours before the shooting.
Bouchard said the shooting began just before 1 p.m. Surveillance video on campus shows the suspect leaving the bathroom with the gun and randomly opening fire in the hallway.
He said the video showed the teenager had never entered any classes. The weapon was a 9mm Sig Sauer SP 2022 pistol. Bouchard said the teenager he was arrested with had a total of about 18 bullets alive, including the bullet still in the chamber.
Who was killed, injured in the shooting in Oxford?
Mr Bouchard said Tate Myre died in a patrol car when a deputy took him to the hospital. Justin Shilling died Wednesday at a local hospital.
Seven people were injured, including a teacher. Bouchard said most of the remaining shooting victims were stable but some remained in critical condition. Police said a 14-year-old girl was placed on a ventilator after surgery and the 47-year-old teacher was discharged from the hospital following treatment.
A post on the Twitter page for the Oxford High School team said Tate had been a footballer since his freshman year and was an honors student. “Tate was a wonderful young man with a bright future and loved by all. You will miss him, Tate,” the tweet read.
“He’s a fantastic footballer with the brightest future and an even better young man off the pitch as he was on it,” he said. another tweet read.
The school’s girls’ basketball team tweeted that Hana St. Juliana is a dedicated member of the show. “We will never forget your kind heart, goofy personality and passion for the game. … This season, we play for you Hana”, post read.
McDonald said Hana also plays volleyball, and her father calls her “one of the happiest and funniest kids.”
Madisyn Baldwin’s grandmother described the 17-year-old as a talented artist and told WDIV-TV that she had received multiple college permits. Madisyn was patient and “so kind,” her grandmother told the broadcaster.
McDonald added Madisyn is also a big sister.
Justin Shilling, 17, is a co-captain of the Oxford bowling team and a golfer, McDonald said.
More from the Oxford community:The town holds a ceremony to pray for peace after the Michigan high school shooting
How the Oxford High School Shooting Happened
At 12:51 p.m. Tuesday, The police coordinator received a 911 call for an active shooter at Oxford High School. In the end, more than 100 calls came in. Within about five minutes of the first call, the Oakland County sheriff caught the suspect, McCabe said.
Surveillance video from the school showed the suspect coming out of the bathroom with a pistol, Bouchard said.The video shows teenagers shooting randomly in the hall, and it appears the victims were not specifically targeted. Bouchard added.
McCabe said the school was doing “everything right” and giving people shelter. Barrier doors and quick action by first responders “saved lives,” Bouchard said.
Abbey said she and her classmates lined up along a wall and grabbed something to throw, which was also part of their active shooting training. But not long after, her teacher told them to jump out the window and run away.
ONE The video is widely shared on social media from within the classroom shows the students hiding when they hear a knock on the door. A voice came from outside the classroom: “Sheriff’s office. Out safely.” Inside, one responded, “We’re not willing to take that risk right now.”
“It’s okay,” the voice outside insisted. “Open the door. It’s okay, man.” When the students heard outsiders use the word “guys,” pandemonium flared up. Someone called it a “red flag” because it would be hard for the sheriff to use the word “bro”. The students escaped through a window, and the deputy greeted them as they entered another door across the courtyard.
Bouchard said that after investigating and reviewing the surveillance footage, the TikTok video failed to capture the suspect knocking on the door and attempting to trick the student out of the classroom.
“We’ve been able to determine now that it’s not a suspect. It’s most likely one of our plainclothes detectives, and he may have been talking ‘guys’ in a conversational fashion. to try to knock them out of the crisis,” Bouchard said at a news conference. “The suspect, which we have now confirmed by analyzing all the video from the start until we arrest him, has never knocked on the door.”
Ashley Bales, a senior, didn’t realize the intercom call was real until she received a text from her sister. She and her classmates ran outside and down a slippery hill towards the Meijer grocery store while filming. She got hit in the face in front of everyone but was fine.
“It’s hard for me because my sister is still in school,” she said.
Brandi Lawrey says she is talking on the phone with her daughter, Makenzie, 17, as she fled the building while police officers guided her out. Lawrey said Makenzie’s class fenced their doors with desks and chairs, then squeezed into a far corner before they left the building.
“All the words in her writing and the fear in her voice just kept running through my mind,” Brandi Lawrey said Wednesday morning. “Makenzie is devastated and heartbroken. She’s scared.”
The school’s superintendent Tim Throne said Oxford High does not have metal detectors. McCabe added that authorities knew how the student was carrying the weapon, but he did not elaborate.
McCabe said the district and superintendent work hard to keep the school’s 1,800 students safe, highlighting the fact that a deputy was assigned to the school and was involved in the arrest of the suspect.
How many school shootings have happened this year?
Had 28 school shootings This year, according to Education Week, which tracks school shootings with any gun-related injuries or deaths.
Of those, 20 have occurred since August, when many students returned to face-to-face classes for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. There are 10 recorded mass shootings in 2020.
Additionally, the incident is the 651st in 2021 in which at least four people have been shot, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Contributors: Khalil AlHajal, Elisha Anderson, Liz Shepard, David Jesse, Kristen Jordan Shamus and Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press; Michael Braun, Fort Myers News-Press; Related press
