Tragedy in Michigan
In this informative article, Jeri will discuss the recent shooting that took place in Oxford Charter Township, Michigan.
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Tragedy in Michigan
Tragedy in Michigan
By JeriLyn Cruz
By JeriLyn Cruz
The shooter was a young man by the name of Ethan Crumbley. He was a sophomore at Oxford High School, living in Oxford Village. Four days before the incident, Crumbley's father purchased a 9-millimeter Sig Sauer handgun. A day beforehand, a teacher had seen him searching online for ammunition in class. The night beforehand, he had made two videos talking about shooting and killing other students and “shooting up the school.” On the morning of the shooting, he had drawn a photo of many guns, a person who had been shot, laughing emojis, with words saying “blood everywhere,” and, “The thoughts won't stop. Help me.”
The suspect will face charges as an adult. He is charged with one count of terrorism, causing death, and four counts of first-degree murder. Karen D. Macdonwald, a prosecutor of Oakland County, decided to charge him as an adult because of the severity of the crime. As for his parents, they had failed to show up to their arrangements and apparently left town days after the shooting, which led to a manhunt. Once the parents were found, they were apprehended and are held in the same jail as their son in separate cells.
On Tuesday, Nov 30, 2021 around 12:51 PM, the suspect emerges from the bathroom and starts firing the first of 30 shots made that day. He first aimed at the students in the hallway, after emerging from the bathroom. Within five minutes, the suspect had shot 11 people. Students who heard the shots started to barricade the classroom doors with chairs. During the incident, Dale Schmalenburg, a student in Crumbley's Calculus class, says, “ I didn’t really know how to respond.” After the five minute rampage, the suspect was apprehended.
There were 11 victims in total. Six students were injured, a 47-year-old teacher was grazed by a bullet, and four students were killed. The four victims were identified as Hana St. Juliana (14), Madisyn Baldwin (17), Tate Myre (16), and Justin Shilling (17). Hanna was described as kind-hearted with a silly personality, and she was passionate about basketball. She played for the Oxford women's basketball program. Madisyn was a smart, sweet, and loving girl. She aspired to be an artist. Tate Myre was a regional football award winner and an honor student. He played running back for his school. Justin Shilling passed away the morning following the shooting. He was the co-captain of the school’s bowling team.
Photo: Hana St. Juliana, Tate Myre, Justin Shilling, Madisyn Baldwin
With this tragedy, the school has taken some actions regarding what they will do to protect their students. Oxford High School has an ongoing Safety Committee made up of community officials, emergency respondents, district personnel, students, parents, and community members that meet regularly to discuss and implement district safeguards. High school leadership has come together with the ALICE Training Institution, which stands for stands for Alert, Lock down, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. The Training Institution teaches all school employees to first notify and inform that there is danger, and then lock down the place and prepare to evacuate or counter. The purpose of the counter is to create noise, movement, distance, and distraction to reduce the shooter's ability to shoot accurately.
The shooting ultimately killed four students and injured eight people in total. The suspect responsible is now in custody and is now awaiting his hearing. The parents will also be questioned about what happened before and after the shooting, as well as regarding their son's actions.
*All information is accurate, regarding any news before and as of December 19, 2021.
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