Michigan School Shooter’s Parents Will Face Manslaughter Trial, Court Says

Topline

A panel of Michigan judges ruled unanimously Thursday that the parents of a teenager who killed four students at a Detroit-area high school in 2021 will stand trial on manslaughter charges, according to multiple reports, even though the parents argue they share no blame for their son’s actions.

Mourners react as they visit a makeshift memorial outside of Oxford High School on December 1, 2021 … [+] in Oxford, Michigan. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

Michigan Court of Appeals judges reportedly voted 3-0 to send James and Jennifer Crumbley to trial on four counts of involuntary manslaughter.

The parents were arrested and charged in the days following the shooting after authorities said they gave their son access to the gun used in the massacre and repeatedly ignored warning signs about his behavioral issues—including ones flagged by school employees.

The judges reportedly noted in their ruling the threshold in Michigan to hold a trial for involuntary manslaughter charges in the case is fairly low.

Crucial Quote

“Whether a jury actually finds that causation has been proven after a full trial, where the record will almost surely be more expansive—including evidence produced by defendants—is an issue separate from what we decide today,” the court said, according to CBS News.

What We Don’t Know

It’s unclear how the ruling might impact how prosecutors look at future school shooting cases, especially since charges like murder are tried in state courts—meaning the Michigan ruling shouldn’t necessarily be considered precedent in other jurisdictions.

Surprising Fact

Charges against parents for school shootings are rare, and punishments are even less common. A Washington Post review of school shootings between 1999 and 2018 found at least 84 instances of a school shooter taking a gun from their home or a close relative, but only four adult gun owners faced punishment for their firearms being used in a school shooting.

Key Background

Ethan Crumbley carried out the shooting using a pistol his father had bought just days before, which he said was kept in an unsecured container at his home. Authorities said Crumbley’s parents were called to the school on the day of the shooting after a drawing of a gun was found on his desk along with the words, “The thoughts won’t stop, help me,” but the parents declined to check him out from school to receive counseling. A teacher also allegedly alerted Crumbley’s parents weeks before the shooting that he was looking up ammunition on his cell phone during class, but Jennifer Crumbley told her son in a text following the incident: “LOL. I’m not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught.”

Tangent

The Oxford shooting at the time was the deadliest school shooting since 2018. It was later eclipsed by the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in May, which left 19 students and two teachers dead in an hour-long rampage.