Dec. 3 (UPI) — Both parents of the Michigan teenager accused of killing four classmates at a high school this week have been criminally charged in the shooting attack, authorities said Friday.
Prosecutors said James and Jennifer Crumbley are charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter for each of the students who died from the attack Tuesday.
Their son, Ethan, is charged with terrorism and four counts of first-degree murder and gun-related charges for the shooting at Oxford High School. Police have said he planned the shooting spree and used a 9mm handgun that James Crumbley bought last week. He’s being charged as an adult.
Under Michigan law, involuntary manslaughter charges can be filed if authorities feel that a person contributed to a situation in which harm or death was high.
If convicted, Crumbley’s parents could face up to 15 years in prison
On Thursday, Oxford Community Schools Superintendent Tim Throne said Ethan Crumbley, 15, was the subject of a disciplinary meeting that involved his parents just hours before the attack.
Throne said administrators met with them to discuss the boy’s “concerning” behavior — but the meeting concluded that no disciplinary measures were warranted.
“There’s just been a lot of talk about the student that was apprehended, that he was called up to the office and all that kind of stuff,” Throne said in the video posted online late Thursday.
“No discipline was warranted. There are no discipline records at the high school. Yes, this student did have contact with our front office. And yes, his parents were on campus.”
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Crumbley’s parents were on school grounds for the meeting on Tuesday morning before the shooting.
A few hours later, police say Crumbley started shooting inside the high school.
Investigators have not yet indicated a motive for the attack.
Wednesday, officials said that a journal and video from Crumbley’s phone indicated that he’d planned out the shooting spree. They said a video he made on Monday described the following day’s attack.
