Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Fresno Suspect Caught After Jumping Out of Second-Floor Window, 2 Others Arrested

3 hours ago

Tesla Has Applied to Arizona for Robotaxi Service Certification, State Transport Department Says

3 hours ago

Evacuations Ongoing as San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Scorches Tens of Thousands of Acres

3 hours ago

US Senate to Vote on Trump Aid, Broadcasting Cuts as Deadline Looms

4 hours ago

US Health Department Widens Immigrant Benefit Restrictions

4 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Stabbing That Left Man Critically Injured

4 hours ago

Madera County Authorities Seek Next of Kin for North Fork Man

5 hours ago

Froot Loops Maker WK Kellogg Agrees to $3.1 Billion Deal From Italy’s Ferrero

6 hours ago

China Signals Willingness to Sell Fighter Jets as Iran Eyes J-10 Aircraft

6 hours ago

Tulare County Man Arrested in Ivanhoe Shooting, Second Suspect Still at Large

6 hours ago
School Shooting Suspect's Parents Charged: 'Far Beyond Negligence'
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
December 3, 2021

Share

A prosecutor in Michigan filed involuntary manslaughter charges Friday against the parents of a boy who is accused of killing four students at Oxford High School, after saying earlier that their actions went “far beyond negligence.”

Jennifer and James Crumbley were charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter. Under Michigan law, an involuntary manslaughter charge can be pursued if prosecutors believe someone contributed to a situation where harm or death was high. If convicted, they could face up to 15 years in prison.

“The parents were the only individuals in the position to know the access to weapons,” Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said Thursday. The gun “seems to have been just freely available to that individual.”

Four Students Killed on Campus

Ethan Crumbley, 15, has been charged as an adult with two dozen crimes, including murder, attempted murder and terrorism, for the shooting Tuesday at Oxford High School in Oakland County, roughly 30 miles north of Detroit.

Four students were killed and seven more people were injured. Three were in hospitals in stable condition.

The semi-automatic gun was purchased legally by Crumbley’s father last week, according to investigators.

Parents in the U.S. are rarely charged in school shootings involving their children, even as most minors get guns from a parent or relative’s house, according to experts.

‘Beyond Negligence’ Says Prosecutor

There’s no Michigan law that requires gun owners keep weapons locked away from children. McDonald, however, suggested there’s more to build a case on.

“All I can say at this point is those actions on mom and dad’s behalf go far beyond negligence,” she told WJR-AM. “We obviously are prosecuting the shooter to the fullest extent. … There are other individuals who should be held accountable.”

Later at a news conference, McDonald said she hoped to have an announcement “in the next 24 hours.” She had firmly signaled that Crumbley’s parents were under scrutiny when she filed charges against their son Wednesday.

Sheriff Mike Bouchard disclosed Wednesday that the parents met with school officials about their son’s classroom behavior, just a few hours before the shooting.

McDonald said information about what had troubled the school “will most likely come to light soon.”

Crumbley stayed in school Tuesday and later emerged from a bathroom with a gun, firing at students in the hallway, police said.

The superintendent for the district late Thursday posted a YouTube video where he said the teenager was called to the office before the shooting but “no discipline was warranted.”

High School ‘Looks Like a War Zone’

Tim Throne, leader of Oxford Community Schools, said the high school looks like a “war zone” and won’t be ready for weeks. But he repeatedly credited students and staff for how they responded to the violence.

“To say that I am still in shock and numb is probably an understatement. These events that have occurred will not define us,” Throne, grim-faced and speaking slowly, said in the 12-minute video.

“I want you to know that there’s been a lot of talk about the student who was apprehended, that he was called up to the office and all that kind of stuff. No discipline was warranted,” Throne said. “There are no discipline records at the high school. Yes this student did have contact with our front office, and, yes, his parents were on campus Nov. 30.”

Throne said he couldn’t immediately release additional details.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

US Lawmakers Renew Concerns About GenScript’s Ties to China

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Man Sentenced to 13 Years in Fiery DUI Crash That Killed One, Injured Several

DON'T MISS

‘Hollywood-Level Scares’ at Immersive Horror Attraction Coming to Fresno This Halloween

DON'T MISS

Hiker Rescued by Helicopter After Injury on Pacific Crest Trail in Kern County

DON'T MISS

US Military Delivering Some Weapons to Ukraine After Pause

DON'T MISS

Qantas Confirms Personal Data of Over a Million Customers Leaked in Breach

DON'T MISS

US Sanctions UN Expert Critical of Israel’s War in Gaza

DON'T MISS

Madera County Structure Fire Spreads to Vegetation in Coarsegold Area, Evacuations Ordered

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Guadalupe Gilberto Moreno

DON'T MISS

Blackstone Businesses Demand Fresno Homeless Orgs Stop Drop-Offs on Private Property

UP NEXT

Fresno County Man Sentenced to 13 Years in Fiery DUI Crash That Killed One, Injured Several

UP NEXT

‘Hollywood-Level Scares’ at Immersive Horror Attraction Coming to Fresno This Halloween

UP NEXT

Hiker Rescued by Helicopter After Injury on Pacific Crest Trail in Kern County

UP NEXT

US Military Delivering Some Weapons to Ukraine After Pause

UP NEXT

Qantas Confirms Personal Data of Over a Million Customers Leaked in Breach

UP NEXT

US Sanctions UN Expert Critical of Israel’s War in Gaza

UP NEXT

Madera County Structure Fire Spreads to Vegetation in Coarsegold Area, Evacuations Ordered

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Guadalupe Gilberto Moreno

UP NEXT

Blackstone Businesses Demand Fresno Homeless Orgs Stop Drop-Offs on Private Property

UP NEXT

Madera Driver ‘Extremely Intoxicated’ in Crash, Arrested for DUI

Oil Falls Amid Bearish Trump Tariff Outlook

2 hours ago

Higher Premiums and Lost Coverage: How Trump’s Budget Will Change Health Care in California

2 hours ago

Fresno County Fire Destroys Structures, Contained at 20 Acres

2 hours ago

State Department Says Reorganization Plan Moving to Implementation

3 hours ago

Fresno Suspect Caught After Jumping Out of Second-Floor Window, 2 Others Arrested

3 hours ago

Tesla Has Applied to Arizona for Robotaxi Service Certification, State Transport Department Says

3 hours ago

Evacuations Ongoing as San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Scorches Tens of Thousands of Acres

3 hours ago

US Senate to Vote on Trump Aid, Broadcasting Cuts as Deadline Looms

4 hours ago

Kyiv Received Political Signals for US Aid Resumption, Zelenskiy Says

4 hours ago

US Health Department Widens Immigrant Benefit Restrictions

4 hours ago

Wonderful Co. Has a New Face Promoting Pistachios: MVP Josh Allen

This upcoming football season viewers and shoppers may see a most valuable player driving pistachios. Wonderful Pistachios on Thursday annou...

50 minutes ago

50 minutes ago

Wonderful Co. Has a New Face Promoting Pistachios: MVP Josh Allen

Francisco Salvador Zuniga is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for July 10, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
58 minutes ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Francisco Salvador Zuniga

A fire at the Fresno Mission Thrift Store on Thursday, July 10, 2025, damaged up to 30 pallets of donations, forced a road closure, and led to a temporary halt in operations, officials said. (Google Maps Screenshot)
1 hour ago

Fire Damages Donations at Fresno Mission Thrift Store

The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, U.S., November 22, 2019. (REUTERS/Angus Mordant/File Photo)
2 hours ago

Oil Falls Amid Bearish Trump Tariff Outlook

A medical worker pushing a bed through the corridors of Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister on March 30, 2023. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local
2 hours ago

Higher Premiums and Lost Coverage: How Trump’s Budget Will Change Health Care in California

A wind-driven fire north of Reedley destroyed a mobile home, RV, and two outbuildings before crews contained it at 20 acres Wednesday, July 9, 2025, afternoon, CalFire Fresno County said. (CalFire)
2 hours ago

Fresno County Fire Destroys Structures, Contained at 20 Acres

The seal of the United States Department of State is seen in Washington, U.S., January 26, 2017. (Reuters File)
3 hours ago

State Department Says Reorganization Plan Moving to Implementation

Three people were arrested and multiple weapons were seized after a standoff at a Northeast Fresno apartment on Tuesday, July 8 2025, police said. (Fresno PD)
3 hours ago

Fresno Suspect Caught After Jumping Out of Second-Floor Window, 2 Others Arrested

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend