Oxford School Shooting

Written by Josh Higgins

Last month, there was a recent tragedy at Oxford High School, Michigan. A teenager brought a firearm into the school and opened fire. Four lives were lost and eleven total were shot. It’s the sad reality that this is happening and students have to worry about the possibility of a shooting while you're at school.

Fifteen-year-old boy Ethan Crumbley brought an automatic handgun into Oxford High School on November 30th, ending the lives of four students; Justin Shilling, Tate Meyer, Madisyn Baldwin, and Hana St. Juliana. A student named Tate Meyer reportedly ran at Crumbly trying to disarm him, but was unsuccessful and was shot on the spot. Currently, there is a petition to name the school football field after Tate, in honor of his heroic sacrifice.

Ethan Crumbley was known to be in the possession of the firearm two days before the shooting, posting it on his Instagram. Surprisingly, his parents knew about the gun and didn’t do anything about it. There were reports of the parents neglecting Crumbley before the shooting and child services were alerted, but nothing came of it. The parents would leave Ethan at the house without any phone or any emergency contacts. They would neglect him, and he would go up to neighbors houses to stay there while his parents were out.

Crumbley is being tried in court as an adult with 24 counts, including four counts of first-degree murder and terrorism causing death. If he is convicted, he will serve a life sentence. His defense attorney Paulette Michel Loftin, when asked about the situation, said, ”Because I do not have the discovery [the information on the case], I don't have any comment at this time.”

The parents of Ethan are also being charged with involuntary manslaughter for knowing this might happen. They were aware of Ethan’s behavior, they were alerted earlier about him drawing guns and dead bodies in art school previously that day. But they dismissed the principal's concern and left him at school.

This is the majority of the information released at this time; there are still investigations underway as this article was written on December 9th, 2021. Anything can change in the trial phase and as this case progresses. It was a sad day not only for the highschool, but for all of America. It’s terrifying thinking about how this actually happens and how it did happen to students in STEM. Prayers go out to all the families and I hope this problem will be solved sooner rather than later.