The U.S. Marshal Service announced Friday evening that agents are searching to find the parents of Ethan Crumbley, the 15-year-old student who is accused of the Oxford High School shooting that killed four fellow students and injured seven others.
The search for James and Jennifer Crumbley has been taken over by the federal agency, which is working with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
The parents of the 15-year-old accused of murdering four students at a high school in Michigan, have each been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter — an exceptionally rare move that the prosecutor said was warranted by what she called “egregious” mistakes and missed opportunities to prevent the shooting.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald described a timeline in which the parents purchased the handgun used in Tuesday’s shooting at Oxford High School, apparently as a Christmas gift for their son on Black Friday, and stored it improperly.
After a teacher reported Ethan Crumbley, a sophomore at the school, was spotted using his phone to search for ammunition, school officials tried to contact Jennifer Crumbley, who did not respond to either a voice message or an email.
According to McDonald, the mother sent a text message to her son that said, “LOL I’m not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught.”
McDonald said the parents did not inquire if their son had the gun or inform school officials that they had recently purchased the weapon for him while they attended a meeting Tuesday morning with school officials to discuss a disturbing, violent drawing made by their son.
The meeting, on the morning of the shooting, was called after Ethan Crumbley’s teacher found a drawing on Ethan Crumbley’s desk of a handgun, bullet and shooting victim, with the words “blood everywhere” and “the thoughts won’t stop, help me.”
Education authorities called both James and Jennifer Crumbley to the school, where they were told that they must seek counseling for their son.
Following that meeting, the sophomore student was allowed to return to class and soon afterward, he allegedly shot and killed four students and wounded six others and a teacher.
“Both James and Jennifer Crumbley failed to ask if their son had his gun with him or where his gun was located, and failed to inspect his backpack for the presence of the gun, which he had with him,” McDonald said.
McDonald said that the charges are the strongest possible charges the prosecutor’s office could prove against the parents for their role in the shooting.
“These charges are intended to hold the individuals who contributed to this tragedy accountable and also send a message that gun owners have a responsibility. When they fail to uphold that responsibility, there are serious and criminal consequences,” McDonald said.
Shannon Smith, a lawyer representing the parents said they left town for their own safety, will be returning to the area to be arraigned, and are not eluding law enforcement.
“On Thursday night we contacted the Oakland County prosecutor to discuss this matter and to advise her that James and Jennifer Crumbley would be turning themselves in to be arraigned,” said a statement from the parents’ attorneys. “Instead of communicating with us, the prosecutor held a press conference to announce charges. The Crumbleys left town on the night of the tragic shooting for their own safety. They are returning to the area to be arraigned. They are not fleeing from law enforcement despite recent comments in media reports.”
Officials revealed Friday that James Crumbley purchased the weapon at a gun shop in Oxford on Nov. 26 — four days before the shooting — with his son Ethan Crumbley present. Ethan Crumbley later took to social media to post a photo of the pistol, writing “Just got my new beauty today,” including an emoji with hearts, prosecutors said.
Following that purchase, mother Jennifer Crumbley reportedly posted on social media, writing, “Mom and son day testing out his new Christmas present.”
The prosecutor said the evidence indicates that the weapon purchased by James Crumbley was intended as a gift for Ethan Crumbley despite the requirement in Michigan, that one must be at least 18 years old to obtain a handgun license.
Officials say the weapon was stored in an unlocked drawer in the parents’ bedroom at their home in Oxford Village.
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