DETROIT – School districts across the metro area were closed Thursday due to threats of violence only Two days after the presence of a 15-year-old gunman At Oxford High School was killed four students Seven others were wounded.
at most 14 school districts planned to close for at least one day. The principal of Bloomfield Hills Schools, about 20 miles south of the town of Oxford, wrote in a note Wednesday night that the area and other nearby areas had “received numerous reports of threats of violence circulating on social media”.
The closures come a day after Ethan Crumbly Appeared in court on first-degree murder and terrorism charges After police said he opened fire on Oxford High with “intent to kill”. Crombley, a sophomore, pleaded not guilty and was denied bail Wednesday. he is He is facing a life sentence If convicted.
Attorney General Mark Kist said surveillance video of the shooting showed Crumbley “systematically and deliberately” walking down a driveway and shooting students.
“What’s filmed in this video is, frankly, judge, I don’t have the words to describe how horrific that is,” Kest said in court.
Here’s what we know.
killing intent:A visual timeline of a fatal shooting at Oxford High School
Police: Suspect spoke of killing students in a mobile phone video
Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Tim Willis said during the trial that videos had been recovered from the suspect’s phone, including “a video he made the night before the incident in which he spoke of the shooting and killing of students the next day at Oxford High School”.
Willis said authorities found the suspect’s newspaper, “which details his desire to shoot a school, to include the killing of students.”
Keast said a review of Crumpley’s social media accounts and other documents show that he planned the shooting and “brought the gun that day with the intent of killing as many students as possible.”
charges:Michigan school shooting suspect faces life in prison: What murder and terrorism charges mean
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen MacDonald said at a news conference that there was “a huge amount of digital evidence, videotapes and social media” and that she was “confident” there was intentional crimes “well before the incident.”
During the hearing, Crumbly sat quietly alone on one side of the table, masked and wearing a dark green prison uniform. Over the course of about 90 minutes, he mentioned his name and answered the judge’s questions briefly.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the 15-year-old suspect was twice reported by school staff for “disturbing behavior” before the attack. The first time occurred the day before the shooting and before the second hour of the attack.
Bouchard said the suspect’s parents were brought to the school around 10 a.m. to meet with the student and school staff, about three hours before the shooting.
‘open the door’:Chilling video shows Michigan students fleeing a window
Who are the victims of the Oxford school shooting?
The authorities identified the victims as Tate Myre, 16, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Hana St. Juliana, 14, and Justin Shilling, 17.
Meyer is remembered as a prominent footballer who was drafted to play in college and an honors student.
Baldwin was an aspiring artist and “a smart, loving, kind girl,” as her grandmother wrote on GoFundMe.
Her father told MacDonald that Saint Julianna was “one of the happiest and most cheerful children”. Jennifer Curtis, who lives in her neighborhood, said she was a member of the basketball and volleyball teams and loved learning how to cook.
The shilling was played in golf and bowling teams. Anita’s Kitchen, a Middle Eastern restaurant he works for, posted on Facebook “It was a pleasure to be here.”
Remember the victims of the Michigan school shooting: Honor student, athlete and artist
Why was the shooter accused of terrorism?
The suspect was charged with one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to kill, and 12 counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
MacDonald said the terrorism charge relates to atrocities inflicted on the rest of the school community who were not direct victims but still faced trauma.
“What about all the kids who ran screaming, hiding under desks? What about all the kids in the house who couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep and couldn’t imagine a world where they could go back to that school?” MacDonald said.
MacDonald admitted it was “not a regular or a regular shipment”.
The Epidemic of Gun Violence in America:Oxford High School in Michigan is the 28th shooting school of 2021
Michigan Anti-Terrorism Act of 2002 It defines an act of terrorism as a violent felony “dangerous to human life” and “aims to intimidate or coerce the civilian population or to influence or influence the behavior of a government or one of its units through intimidation or coercion.”
Chris Brown, head of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and a lawyer, said accusations of terrorism in school shootings are not uncommon, but that prosecution for the charge could have some kind of “deterrent effect.” She also said if successful, she could see prosecutors in other potential school shooting cases apply terrorism laws as appropriate.
“The terror plot definitely should bring back the point…that the school shootings of so many parents and children are acts of domestic terrorism. That’s how we feel.”
Parents of the shooter could face charges because of the gun
MacDonald indicated that more charges may soon be brought against others, and specifically said they are reviewing the charges against the suspect’s parents.
We know that having a gun means securing it properly, locking it, keeping ammunition separate and not allowing access to other personnel, especially minors.
“We have to hold accountable people who don’t.”
Bouchard said the suspect’s father had purchased a Sig Sauer SP 2022 9mm pistol four days before the shooting.
Brown said prosecutors would have to follow a legal theory of criminal negligence in potentially indicting the parents because the state doesn’t have strict child-blocking laws like the others.
While charging the parents would also be a deterrent, Brown said, it shows a shift in blame in society and highlights what she sees as a “failure” to pass stricter federal gun laws, including the ability to hold gun manufacturers responsible.
“The attorney general must believe that jurors will accept that gun violence is very common in our country, that school shootings are very common in our country, and that not storing your gun safely amounts to a possible death sentence for others if a child finds that gun “.
Contributing: Phoebe Wall Howard, John Weasley, Clara Hendrickson, Jennifer Dixon, Georgia Kovanis and Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press
