School met with accused shooter’s parents hours before bloodshed

The accused US school shooter was hauled into the school with his parents over his “behaviour in the classroom” just hours before the deadly rampage.

Ethan Crumbley mug shot. Picture: Oakland County Sheriff's Office

Accused US school shooter Ethan Crumbley was hauled into the school with his parents over his “behaviour in the classroom” just hours before the deadly rampage.

After first being talked to by Oxford High School officials on Monday, Crumbley and his parents met with administrators on Tuesday, a short time before he allegedly committed the shootings that left four students dead and seven others wounded.

It came amid claims by students of online threats someone was going to “shoot up the school”.

“We also were told that the school had some information or some kind of contact with the school,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said on Wednesday.

“We have since learned that the school did have contact with the student the day before and the day of the shooting for behaviours in the classroom that they felt was concerning,” he said.

“In fact, the parents were brought in the morning of the shooting and had a face-to-face meeting with the school. The content of that meeting of course is part of the investigation.”

The school had also issued reassurances to its students that they were safe just weeks before teenagers were brutally shot and killed.

A fourth student has died after the 15-year-old allegedly opened fire at his Michigan high school on Tuesday. The death toll from the tragedy at Oxford High School rose again after Justin Shilling died in hospital.

One of the victims, Tate Myre, 16, has been called a hero by police who said he tried to disarm the shooter. The two other victims were Hana St. Juliana, 14 and Madisyn Baldwin, 17, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.

Ethan Crumbley’s mug shot. Picture: Oakland County Sheriff's Office

Crumbley when he was younger.

The alleged shooter has now been identified as 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley.

Crumbley has been charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder, terrorism, assault, and weapons possession.

He was arraigned later in the day and transported from a juvenile facility to the Oakland County Jail, and adult facility, prosecutors said.

The horrific attack occurred just weeks after the school issued a statement to parents and students telling them they were safe.

“We want our parents and students to know there has been no threat to our building nor our students,” it said on November 12.

“The safety and security of our students and staff is always our top priority. To accomplish this task, OHS has numerous highly-trained professionals who work to keep our building safe and secure. We have counsellors and social workers who work with students daily. We also have two highly-trained security guards and an Oakland County Resource Officer on site who assist us as well.”

Ethan Crumbley parents James and Jennifer Crumbley. Picture: CNN

This has been America’s deadliest school shooting this year. Picture: AFP.

A week earlier, another clarification was issued by the school that described there had been “no threat on campus”.

The statement was in relation to graffiti and a deer’s head at the school.

“There is no present threat of danger at Oxford High School. Before school began this morning we identified graffiti on the cement outside our pool entrance doors,” it said.

“This person (who wrote the graffiti) did throw the head of a deer into a locked/inaccessible courtyard while on the roof. The deer was from a nearby location off-campus, likely struck from a vehicle prior to today. There was no blood from the animal found on campus or on the roof, as earlier reported on social media.”

Ethan Crumbley appears at his arraignment in court. Picture: WDIV

Crumbley also allegedly wounded seven other students, ranging in age from 14 to 17, and a 47-year-old teacher. Three of the injured students, a 15-year-old boy, and two girls, ages 14 and 17, are in critical condition.

The accused shooter was uninjured and taken into custody in the hallway of the school by deputies who arrived within three minutes of the first 911 call reporting the gunfire.

He allegedly used a 9mm Sig Sauer pistol that was purchased by the boy’s father on November 26.

Apparently, students at Oxford High School were aware of threats prior to today’s tragic incident. pic.twitter.com/cc3pFSg9i4

— Mythinformed MKE (@MythinformedMKE) November 30, 2021

Online threats: ‘This is serious’

One student told local news station WDTV4 that there had been threats posted online in recent days.

“Yeah that is right,” he said.

“I’d been hearing the threats too. You know, kids they play around and say, ‘We’re going to shoot up the school.’ You’re not supposed to play around with that. This is serious. You can’t do that. So it’s a lot of stuff that’s been going on.”

A student from inside Oxford High School captured this footage of the possible shooter trying to get into the classroom by impersonating a sheriff

The students did not open the door and escaped through a windowhttps://t.co/DCKb6l555wpic.twitter.com/gQWOuJPAAL

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) November 30, 2021