Safety at school has again been called into question after what happened at the Michigan high school, Oxford High. Sophomore Ethan Crumbley, after displaying concerning behavior, shot eleven people on November 30, 2021. Four students passed away either on scene or in the hospital, and seven students and one teacher sustained injury. Thankfully, the teacher has been discharged, but the students are still in the hospital in conditions from stable to critical. Police were on the scene in minutes, but the damage was done. Crumbley was apprehended at the scene with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun with live ammo inside of it. 

He pleaded not guilty in court, but with outstanding evidence he was charged as an adult and was convicted of 24 charges. He faces one count of terrorism causing death, twelve counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, seven counts of assault with intent to murder, and four counts of first degree murder, according to the Oakland County procecutor Karen McDonald. The judge denied him bond after viewing a disturbing video of the shooting taken by students. McDonald stated also that evidence heavily suggests that the shooting was planned well in advance, however how long before the day of the shooting she declined to say. 

Authorities still have not determined a motive for the shooting, but the teen showed clear signs of violent tendencies- just a few days before the shooting, his parents were called to the school on the basis of a concerning drawing found in Crumbley’s desk. He was also caught looking at ammunition prices on his phone, to which, when the school told his parents, his mom texted him to “not get caught.” 

His parents have also been taken into custody on the basis of neglect. They had bought Ethan the gun he used that day as a Christmas gift. They kept the gun in an unlocked drawer in their bedroom, and failed to acknowledge the violent tendencies in their son. He was even on suicide watch on November 30th. 

Ethan’s parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, have been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, and face up to 15 years for each count if they are convicted. They have a bond of 500,000 dollars each, and are now being held in the same facility as their son. 

Many blame the parents heavily for the shooting, claiming that the severe neglect and the opportunity that they gave him was one, if not the, direct reason for this. There is damning evidence to support this, how they fled after Ethan was taken into custody, how they laughed on social media about it- thanking former president Donald Trump for the right to bear arms- and the hypocrisy that they displayed in court, his mother sobbing on the stand.

The effect of terrorist shooters in schools in extremely clear. The trauma from these instances has and will continue to damage the younger generations. This shooting was the deadliest shooting in a K-12 school in the US since 2018, and the issue of neglect from both the school and the parents and gun control have and will continue to be issues until something changes.