Families of Oxford High School shooting victims demand state-led investigation
OXFORD, Mich. (FOX 2) - As the three-year anniversary of the Oxford High School shooting approaches, family members of victims continue to seek accountability and answers.
These family members, including the parents of the four students killed – Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana, Madisyn Baldwin, and Justin Shilling – plan to hold a press conference Monday, where they will call on the state to mandate an independent investigation into what led to the Nov. 30, 2021 shooting. It will be the first time these family members will speak without their attorneys.
Watch live above at 10:30 a.m.
Though the shooter and his parents have both been sentenced and are in prison, the victims' families still want an investigation into the actions taken by school employees before a 15-year-old student opened fire.
The shooter had come on the radar of school employees when he was caught looking up bullets in class and drawing violent images on a worksheet. He spent time in the school's office the morning of the shooting, and even had the gun used in his backpack at that time. Because of this, questions have been asked about whether more could have been done to prevent the fatal shooting.
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Oakland County prosecutors claim that James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of the accused Oxford High School shooter knew about their son Ethan Crumbley's mental state but did not help him.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel did offer to investigate the shooting twice, but the school board rejected both of her offers, saying that it would use "more holistic third-party reviews."
After those offers were turned down, the shooting was investigated by Guidepost Solutions, who put the blame on the school district.
"In certain critical areas, individuals at every level of the district, from the board to the Superintendent and his cabinet, to the OHS administration and staff, failed to provide a safe and secure environment," the report said.
Oxford High School shooting independent report: 'District failed to provide safe environment'
"Our investigation has revealed that had proper threat assessment guidelines been in place and District threat assessment policy followed, this tragedy was avoidable," the report said.
The report said that the district was responsible for keeping the four slain students and the rest of the survivors and students safe but "failed to do so."
Despite the result of this investigation, the family members argue that there wasn't subpoena power behind that deep dive, which resulted "in many school employees being advised by their attorneys to not participate, leaving crucial questions unanswered."