Prosecutor seeks to charge 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley in Oxford school shooting
The Oakland County Prosecutor said Wednesday that she is seeking to charge the suspect in the shooting at Oxford High School on Tuesday with first-degree murder, terrorism and related gun crimes.
Prosecutor Karen McDonald named the suspect as Ethan Crumbley, age 15, and said the charges she is seeking against him include terrorism, four counts of first-degree murder and related charges to the use of a firearm at the school shooting. She added that she is seeking to charge Crumbley as an adult.
The high school sophomore is accused of killing four people — Hana St. Juliana, 14, Tate Myre, 16, and Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling (there have been conflicting official reports about his age, either 15 or 17) — and injuring seven others during the rampage Tuesday.
McDonald said the facts “suggest this was not just an impulsive act," adding “we are considering charges against both parents and we will be making a decision swiftly.”
The charges:
One count of terrorism causing death
Four counts of first-degree murder
Seven counts of assault with intent to murder
12 counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony
More: Oxford High School shooter was 'very clearly trying to kill people,' sheriff says
More: What adults need to know, and how they can help after shootings like Oxford High School
If convicted, the faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
McDonald said she was naming him only once. “We want to keep our focus on the victims of this horrific tragedy,” she said.
McDonald said at the news conference that "“there is a mountain of digital evidence, video tape, social media." She said they are "confident" there was pre-mediation, “Well before the incident”
The suspect was armed with a semiautomatic handgun his dad purchased four days earlier on Black Friday, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said late Tuesday evening.
McDonald declined to comment on the motive but said she had no reason to believe that Crumbley’s mental state would affect his ability to face charges.
She indicated more charges could be coming soon for others, specifically saying they were reviewing charges against Crumbley’s parents.
“We know that owing a gun means securing it properly and locking it and keeping the ammunition separate and not allowing access to other individuals, particularly minors.
"We have to hold individuals accountable who don’t do that.”
McDonald also called for strong gun laws.
“If the incident yesterday, with four children being murdered and multiple kids being injured is not enough to revisit our gun laws, I don’t know what is,” McDonald said.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ethan Crumbley, 15, to be charged in Oxford school shooting
