“Literally from the beginning of school, Ethan Crumbley showed signs of being a very troubled person, to say the least,” Detroit attorney Ven Johnson said, citing filings in a civil lawsuit against Oxford Community Schools and some staff at the high school. of Oxford. . Crumbley, now 16, faces trial next year as an adult on murder and other charges in the Nov. 30 shooting. A teacher said Crumbley drew what looked like an ammunition magazine on a note card in late August 2021. Crumbley also responded to a survey that his favorite books included “Making Bombs for Hitler,” while “Dexter” and “Breaking Bad” was among his favorite TV shows. A week or so later, he wrote in an autobiographical poem assignment for a Spanish teacher that he “feels terrible and that his family is wrong,” Johnson said in an email the teacher sent to a school counselor. The teacher who received the note card testified that she didn’t see the drawing until the day before the shooting. Apparently the Spanish teacher’s September email asking the counselor to contact Crumbley was not followed up on, Johnson said. Prosecutors said Crumbley used a semi-automatic weapon to open fire on other teenagers in the hallway of the school, about 50 kilometers north of Detroit. The four students killed were 16-year-old Tate Myre, 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin and 17-year-old Justin Shilling. Ethan Crumbley, a teenager accused of killing four students in a shooting at Oxford High School, attends a hearing in Oakland County District Court in Pontiac, Mich. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP, Pool) Crumbley’s parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, have been charged with involuntary manslaughter and pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors accuse the couple of failing to keep the gun used in the shooting safe at home and failing to provide reasonable care for their son when he showed signs of mental distress. The day before the shooting, a teacher saw Ethan Crumbley looking at ammunition on his phone while in class. School officials left a voicemail informing his mother about this. On the morning of the shooting, Crumbley’s parents were called to the school and confronted with his plans, which included a gun and the words: “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me.” Authorities said the parents refused to take him home after the 13-minute encounter and were told to counsel him. Several parents who attended Johnson’s news conference in Detroit on Thursday said they were unaware of some of the details revealed in the depositions. School district accused of withholding information “I see no excuse not to take these red flags very seriously,” said Jill Soave, Justin Shilling’s mother. “We’re learning all these months later that this could have been avoided. These children should be with us today. There is no excuse. Anyone with any type of common sense could put the pieces together that something was wrong.” William Myre, Tate Myre’s father, accused the school district of withholding information that could have been used to prevent the shooting. “Meanwhile, we’re here buying memorial shirts for our murdered child,” he said, holding up a blue T-shirt. “What are Oxford Community Schools doing? Nothing. Nothing.” Schools Superintendent Ken Weaver said Thursday that the district is cooperating with the criminal investigation into the shooting. “We are also cooperating fully with the civil litigation process and will continue to do so,” Weaver said in a statement. “I remain confident that the school board’s multiple investigations, lawsuits and third-party review will bring all the facts to light and create the full transparency and record of facts that our community wants and deserves.” Johnson filed the civil suit earlier this year against the school district. It also names Oxford Grammar School’s dean of students, two counselors and three professors as defendants.
