Ethan Crumbley Oxford High School shooting suspect to be charged as an adult with murder and terrorism as shooting was premeditated prosecutors announce. Sophomore posted ‘death warning’ hours before rampage….
The 15-year-old shooter who opened gunfire at a Michigan high school is to be charged as an adult with murder and terrorism, prosecutors said during a press conference on Wednesday.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said Ethan Crumbley will be charged as an adult with one count of terrorism, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder, 12 counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. McDonald said the charges stemmed from ‘undeniable’ evidence that the attack was premeditated, while noting the shooting ‘was not an impulsive act.’
The charges were announced after death toll from the school mass shooting at Oxford High School rose to four as a 17-year-old boy, Justin Shilling, succumbed to his injuries. Three other students – 16-year-old Tate Myre, 14-year-old Hana St Juliana, and 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin – were confirmed dead on Tuesday and seven other victims were wounded.
Crumbley who was being held a juvenile detention facility is believed to have used a semi-automatic handgun his father purchased on Black Friday. During Wednesday’s press conference, prosecutor said they were also considering charges against both parents for failing to lock up the gun the teen used during Tuesday’s rampage.
To date the sophomore student upon the advice of his parents and attorney has refused to cooperate with investigators and has invoked the fifth amendment. The statute mandates that an individual cannot be compelled by the government to provide incriminating information about herself – the so-called ‘right to remain silent.’
‘Now I become death…’ Ethan Crumbley pleads not guilty as new evidence shows he planned rampage
Ethan Crumbley Instagram posts warned off planned rampage
BREAKING: 15-year-old suspect for the Oxford High School shooting in Michigan will be charged as an adult for counts including first-degree murder and terrorism causing death https://t.co/UBAj46j5cj pic.twitter.com/SnAcJ6pNDh
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 1, 2021
‘Now I become death — destroyer of worlds — see you tomorrow Oxford.’
The 10th grade student allegedly posted a countdown on Instagram hours before the shooting, Fox 2 Detroit reported. The post read: ‘Now I become death — destroyer of worlds — see you tomorrow Oxford.’
The boy’s father had just purchased the gun on Black Friday, just four days before the shooting.
Police searched the family’s home, and reportedly seized some items, including the shooter’s phone.
The Detroit Free Press reported that some parents said they had actually kept their children home from school after the kids heard rumors of planned violence before school on Tuesday. However, no one had reported the rumors to the police.
#RochesterHills #Michigan Judge Nancy Karniak, 52nd District Court, Michigan is now arraigning 15-year-old school shooting suspect via video on felony charges. Left: Mr. and Mrs. James Crumbley. Right: Suspect, Ethan Crumbley. pic.twitter.com/nXFpDHEb3n
— Sharibearpaws🐻🐾 ReSISTER #ThePack🐺🌊🎶🎸🐱💝🐶 (@Sharibearpaws1) December 1, 2021
Judge Nancy Carniak of 52nd district court in the Detroit suburb of Rochester Hills informs Ethan Crumbley of his rights, and then lists the long list of murder and terror charges in the school shooting deaths of four students yesterday in Oxford: pic.twitter.com/6wUWnX73CA
— Niraj Warikoo (@nwarikoo) December 1, 2021
Suspect met with school administrators and his parents on day of shooting
A review of school surveillance videos showed Crumbley coming out firing from a bathroom, authorities revealed. At one point, Crumbley went so far as to pretended to be a police officer in a bid to get access to barricaded classrooms.
Of note, Ethan Crumbley had a meeting with administrators and his parents on Tuesday morning before he opened fire on classmates, Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Wednesday.
He did not disclose details about what sparked the meeting, or whether Crumbley knew about it before being called in. Reports have since indicated the meeting centered on the sophomore’s behavior.
Police say there was no record of the teenager being bullied – as other students have claimed – and prosecutors revealed at his arraignment that he had detailed in a journal found in his backpack how he wanted to shoot students at the school.
The sheriff said investigators believe the weapon used during Tuesday’s carnage was already on campus before the shooting, but said that has yet to be confirmed.
Prosecutors are charging Crumbley as an adult so that he may be convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
