What a difference a day makes.
Just the other day, I was bemoaning the fact that parents who make guns available to school shooters are hardly ever punished, let alone arrested.
Yesterday, it was announced that prosecutors had filed involuntary manslaughter charges against 45-year-old James Crumbley and 43-year-old Jennifer Crumbley. The Crumbley’s are parents of 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley who was the shooter at this past Tuesday’s school shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan that left four students dead.
However, before the Crumbleys could be arraigned, they allegedly fled the area. Law enforcement were tracking their cell phone signals before the signals went offline when the Crumbleys supposedly turned their phones off. Authorities were worried about the couple fleeing since they are said to have no real ties to the Oxford area.
While police were searching for the Crumbleys, their lawyers issued a statement on their behalf claiming that the Crumbleys were not fleeing but were worried about their own security.
Late Friday night, the couple was arrested in Detroit while they were said to be hiding out in a commercial building. A person known to the Crumbleys allegedly allowed them inside the building, and that person could be facing prosecution as well. The Crumbleys were said to be unarmed at the time of their arrest.
Earlier this morning, both Crumbley’s were arraigned and both have pleaded not guilty to the four charges of involuntary manslaughter that have been levelled against them. Both are being held on $500,000 bond each. Each count carries a possible 15-year-sentence.
I have to commend the prosecutors for filing these charges against the Crumbley’s. Like I said, it’s incredibly rare for the parents of school shooters to face any legal repercussions when they allow their children access to the guns they use for mass murder. The only story that sticks out in my mind where a parent was charged, prosecuted, and sentenced was a 2007 plot against Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School in the greater Philadelphia area. The mother had bought the gun that her son had intended to use in the attack. She was charged with and pleaded guilty to charges of endangering the welfare of children. She was sentenced to four months in prison and five years probation. The plotter’s father had tried to buy the gun for his son but couldn’t because of the father’s criminal record.
More details surrounding the shooting have been made public. As mentioned in a previous post, the Crumbley’s were called into the school the day of the shooting due to alleged behavioral issues on Ethan Crumbley’s part. According to reports, a teacher found a note on Crumbley’s desk that said, “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me,” along with a drawing of a gun. There was also a drawing of a bullet with the words ‘blood everywhere’ written over it. The Crumbley’s were told to get their son into counselling within 48 hours.
So how did the gun-toting Trumper parents react to this? Jennifer Crumbley is said to have texted her son with the message, “LOL, I’m not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught.” Apparently he already knew how not to get caught, since their gun was missing, and they didn’t even know it. Typical school shooter parents, in my opinion, no one ever wants to take responsibility for their actions.
There’s also been a lot of information released about the gun used in the shooting. It was kept in the most secure place a firearm has ever been stored, Just kidding. It was said to be kept unlocked in a bedroom drawer. That’s the ‘responsible gun owner’ version of hiding something under your mattress and thinking no one will ever look there.
Apparently, Ethan Crumbley was not the only Crumbley to post about the gun on social media. Jennifer Crumbley posted on social media that the gun was “his new Christmas present.” Yes, because buying a 15-year-old a semi-automatic handgun with multiple 15 round clips is really what the spirit of the season is all about. These are probably the type of people who think Jesus would carry an AR-15 and shoot at Mexican immigrants, but I digress. Anyway, it seems my hypothesis about Ethan Crumbley getting his dad to buy him the gun he needed for a school shooting holds some merit.
Getting back to the school’s recommendation that Ethan Crumbley should get counselling, do you think his parents had any intentions of following through with that recommendation? I highly doubt it considering their only reaction was to tell Ethan not to get caught.
School shootings are often a ‘perfect’ storm of coincidence and parental neglect. However, these coincidences all have one thing in common, and that’s the coward’s weapon of the gun. Eliminate the gun, you eliminate school shootings, and our school students can stop dying in a hail of gutless gunfire.
- (Sources)
- Involuntary manslaughter charges filed against parents of suspected Oxford High School shooter
- There is a manhunt for parents of the Michigan high school shooting suspect
- James and Jennifer Crumbley caught, arrested after vehicle is found in Detroit
- James and Jennifer Crumbley plead not guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges
- Prosecutor: Gun was ‘freely available’ to Michigan shooter
Real Crime with Trench Reynolds 