A Michigan prosecutor announced on Friday that she filed four involuntary manslaughter charges against the parents of a 15-year-old who is charged with killing four students earlier this week in a Detroit suburb.
Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said Jennifer and James Crumbley made their 9-mm semiautomatic handgun “freely available” to their 15-year-old son Ethan. She said their actions went “far beyond negligence” and that Michigan law allowed her to pursue involuntary manslaughter charges against people who contributed to a situation where harm or death was high.
“While the shooter was the one who entered the high school and pulled the trigger, there were other individuals who contributed to the events,” McDonald said.
If convicted of the four charges, the Crumbleys can face up to 15 years in prison.
ABC News provides additional details:
On Nov. 21, a teacher saw Ethan Crumbley researching ammunition in class, the prosecutor said. The teen’s parents were called and emailed but they didn’t respond to school officials, she said. However, according to the prosecutor, Jennifer Crumbley texted her son about the incident, writing, “lol, I’m not mad at you, you have to learn not to get caught.”
According to McDonald, the morning of the shooting, Ethan Crumbley’s teacher saw a note on his desk which alarmed her. McDonald said the note was “a drawing of a semi-automatic handgun pointing at the words, ‘The thoughts won’t stop, help me.’ In another section of the note was a drawing of a bullet with the following words above that bullet, ‘Blood everywhere.’”
“Between the drawing of the gun and the bullet is a drawing of a person who appears to have been shot twice and bleeding,” she said. “Below that figure is a drawing of a laughing emoji. Further down the drawing are the words, ‘My life is useless,’ and to the right of that are the words, ‘The world is dead.’”
The New York Times adds:
Law enforcement authorities say that Mr. Crumbley legally bought the 9-millimeter Sig Sauer handgun four days before his son used it to carry out the country’s deadliest school shooting this year. Hours before the attack, he and his wife met with school officials who were concerned about their son’s behavior.
More from ABC:
“At the meeting, James and Jennifer Crumbley were shown the drawing and were advised that they were required to get their son into counseling within 48 hours,” she said. “Both James and Jennifer Crumbley failed to ask their son if he 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.”
The parents left school while Ethan Crumbley returned to class, likely with the gun in his backpack, McDonald said.
Ethan then allegedly killed four students and injured seven others. Three remain hospitalized.
CNN reports:
When the news of the active shooter had been made public, Jennifer Crumbley texted her son, “Ethan, don’t do it,” McDonald said.
Additionally, “James Crumbley called 911 reporting that a gun was missing from his house, and he believed his son may be the shooter,” McDonald said.
The Washington Post adds:
The Crumbleys have shared little with investigators or the public, declining to let investigators question their child when he was first detained.
On Wednesday, James and Jennifer Crumbley made a virtual appearance at the arraignment for their son, who faces 24 charges: one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to commit murder and 12 counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. They appeared side-by-side briefly, before turning off their cameras for the remainder of the hearing.