Oxford High School shooting: What’s known about the victims, suspect and parents

OXFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Four students were killed and several others were hurt in a shooting Tuesday, Nov. 30 at Oxford High School in Oxford, Michigan, a city located about 40 miles north of Detroit. The shooter, also a student, was taken into custody by police within minutes of their arrival.

Several people are now facing charges after the shooting, including the suspected shooter and his parents.

Shooting At Oxford High School In Michigan Leaves 4 Students Dead

OXFORD, MICHIGAN - DECEMBER 03: A memorial outside of Oxford High School continues to grow on December 03 2021 in Oxford, Michigan. Four students were killed and seven others injured on November 30, when student Ethan Crumbley allegedly opened fire w

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Here’s what is known about the incident.

What happened in the Oxford High School shooting?

According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, at about 12:51 p.m. local time, hundreds of calls flooded the 911 dispatch for reports of a shooting at Oxford High School. Deputies immediately responded to the scene and took the suspect into custody but not until after he shot multiple people, killing three students on scene and eventually a fourth who later died at the hospital, authorities said.

Investigators later determined the suspect emerged from a bathroom and started shooting students in the hallway.

Police recovered a 9 mm Sig Sauer, which had been purchased by the suspect's father four days before the shooting, according to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard. The gun had seven more rounds of ammo in it when he surrendered, Bouchard added.

Around 2 p.m. local time, medical helicopters including the University of Michigan's Survival Flight had landed in the parking lot of the school as a secondary search was being conducted around the perimeter.

The campus was placed on lockdown during the attack, with some children sheltering in locked classrooms. Parents and guardians were instructed to go to the Meijer grocery store across the street from the high school to reunite with students, according to FOX 2.

Oxford High School shooting aerial shot. (FOX TV Stations)

Some students were captured on video frantically escaping through a window. A video shared on social media captured the confusion in the classroom as someone can be heard knocking on the door trying to get students to come out and claiming to be the sheriff’s office.

A TikTok video shows students hiding under desks. From the other side of the door, someone can be heard yelling, "Sheriff's office, it's safe to come out."

Someone inside the classroom can be heard replying, "We're not willing to take that risk right now." The voice on the other side then says, "Come to the door and look at my badge, bro."

The students open a window and are captured running across an outside courtyard to safety.

Who are the victims of Oxford High School shooting?

Michigan High School shooting: New details on victims

A school shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan left three high school students dead and eight others injured. The three victims were identified as 16-year-old Tate Myre, who died inside a patrol car while deputies were taking him to the hospital, 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana and 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin. The sheriff said that the suspect is a 15-year-old sophomore at the school has been taken into custody and has invoked his right to remain silent.

The four students killed in the shooting are 16-year-old Tate Myre, 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin and 17-year-old Justin Shilling.

Myre died inside of a patrol car while deputies were taking him to the hospital, officials said. Shilling died the following morning at a hospital in Pontiac, Michigan.

Eight people were wounded, including a teacher who received a graze wound to the shoulder and was later released from the hospital. Seven students, ranging in age from 14 to 17, remained hospitalized overnight, according to authorities.

One victim, a 14-year-old girl, received chest and neck wounds and was placed on a ventilator following surgery, Bouchard told reporters.

Tate Myre

Tate Myre, 17, was shot and killed inside the school and died in an Oakland County Sheriff's vehicle as they were loading him into the car to rush him to the hospital.

Myre was a football standout at Oxford High School and had just visited the University of Toledo.

Visitation for Myre will be held from 1 to 8 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 6 and 10 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Dec. 7. His funeral set for noon on Tuesday.

According to Lynch & Sons Funeral Directors, the services will take place at Kensington Church in Lake Orion.

Madisyn Baldwin

According to a GuFundMe page that FOX 2 has verified, funeral arrangements have been made for 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin but are not public at this time.

"This unbelievable tragedy could never be planned for or expected by any of us. My daughter and son-in-law would never ask for anything during this time, however I want them to be able to be with each other, their other children and family during this time without worrying about work, bills and arrangements," Baldwin's grandmother wrote.

Hana St. Juliana

Visitation for 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana is set for Wednesday, Dec. 8, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. at Lakepoint Community Church in Oxford.

She'll be laid to rest at a funeral service at 6 p.m. that same day.

Justin Shilling

The fourth victim, Justin Shilling, 17, died on Wednesday, Dec. 1.

Funeral service information has not yet been made available.

Oxford High School shooting suspect, Ethan Crumbley

Ethan Crumbley mug shot (Oakland County Sheriff's Office)

The sheriff said that the suspect, identified Wednesday as 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, was a sophomore at the school.

Crumbley is charged with one count of terrorism, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder and 12 counts of possession of a firearm while committing a felony in connection with the school shooting that killed four students and injured seven other people, including a teacher.

He has been charged as an adult, according to Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald.

Law enforcement revealed on Wednesday that school officials had a meeting on Monday and again on Tuesday with Crumbley and his parents to discuss "concerning behavior. The killings took place that same Tuesday afternoon.

After opening fire on students and faculty, authorities were able to quickly respond to the high school and took Crumbley into custody without further incident.

Crumbley invoked his right to remain silent. His parents advised their son not to talk to investigators and hired an attorney, according to McCabe.

Police must seek permission from a juvenile’s parents or guardian to speak with them, he added.

McCabe said at a news conference that he didn't know what the Crumbley's motives were for the attack. Investigators were searching his cellphone, school video footage and social media posts for any evidence of a possible motive.

Crumbley was taken to Oakland County’s Children’s Village, a juvenile detention center in Pontiac, Michigan.

On Tuesday evening, authorities searched Crumbley’s home and seized evidence, including what appeared to be several long guns, FOX 2 reported.

Ethan Crumbley's parents missing, charged

Authorities in Michigan were looking for the parents of Ethan Crumbley Friday, Dec. 3 after a prosecutor filed involuntary manslaughter charges against them.

The Crumbleys' attorney, Shannon Smith, said that the pair had left town earlier in the week "for their own safety" and would be returning to Oxford to face charges. But Detroit's police chief James E. White seemed to dismiss the possibility that was their intention.

James and Jennifer Crumbley were captured in the middle of the night later that day in a commercial building.

"This isn’t indicative of turning yourself in — hiding in a warehouse," White said.

White said the couple "were aided in getting into the building," and that a person who helped them may also face charges.

Earlier in the day, U.S. Marshals announced a reward of up to $10,000 each for information leading to their arrests.

Hours after they were caught, James and Jennifer Crumbley entered not guilty pleas to each of the four counts of involuntary manslaughter over a hearing held on Zoom.

Judge Julie Nicholson assigned bond of $500,000 apiece to each of the parents and placed other requirements such as GPS monitoring, agreeing with prosecutors that they posed a flight risk.

Parents of Ethan Crumbley, Oxford High School shooting suspect, make first appearance in court

James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of the Oxford High School shooting suspect, Ethan Crumbley, made their first appearance in court Saturday, Dec. 4, and entered not guilty pleas to each of the four counts of involuntary manslaughter filed against them.

The hours before the shooting

School officials became concerned about the younger Crumbley on Monday, a day before the shooting, when a teacher saw him searching for ammunition on his phone, McDonald said.

Jennifer Crumbley was contacted and subsequently told her son in a text message: "Lol. I’m not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught," according to the prosecutor.

On Tuesday, a teacher found a note on Ethan’s desk and took a photo. It was a drawing of a gun pointing at the words, "The thoughts won’t stop. Help me," McDonald said.

There also was a drawing of a bullet, she said, with words above it: "Blood everywhere."

Between the gun and the bullet was a person who appeared to have been shot twice and is bleeding. He also wrote, "My life is useless" and "The world is dead," according to the prosecutor.

The school quickly had a meeting with Ethan and his parents, who were told to get him into counseling within 48 hours, McDonald said.

The Crumbleys failed to ask their son about the gun or check his backpack and "resisted the idea of their son leaving the school at that time," McDonald said.

Instead, the teen returned to class and the shooting subsequently occurred.

"The notion that a parent could read those words and also know that their son had access to a deadly weapon that they gave him is unconscionable — it’s criminal," the prosecutor said.

Jennifer Crumbley texted her son after the shooting, saying, "Ethan, don’t do it," McDonald said.

James Crumbley called 911 to say that a gun was missing from their home and that Ethan might be the shooter. The gun had been kept in an unlocked drawer in the parents’ bedroom, McDonald said.

Ethan accompanied his father for the gun purchase on Nov. 26 and posted photos of the firearm on social media, saying, "Just got my new beauty today," McDonald said.

Over the long Thanksgiving weekend, Jennifer Crumbley wrote on social media that it is a "mom and son day testing out his new Christmas present," the prosecutor said.

In a written statement released Saturday, Oxford Community Schools Superintendent Tim Throne for the first time detailed the school's response to Crumbley's behavior. At the first meeting with a counselor and a staff member, Crumbley said shooting sports were a hobby for his family, Throne said.

During the second meeting with guidance counselors, Crumbley claimed the drawings were part of a video game design and said he wanted to pursue a career in that field, the letter said. According to guidance counselors, Crumbley was calm and worked on homework while staff tried to reach his parents and they traveled to the school.

The parents did not notify counselors that they had purchased a gun for their son recently during that meeting, Thorne said.

"Given the fact that the child had no prior disciplinary infractions, the decision was made he would be returned to the classroom rather than sent home to an empty house," he said.

Throne had not spoken publicly aside from a video message to the community Thursday.

What’s next in the investigation

The sheriff’s office said they will be reviewing the high school’s security cameras and interviewing every student necessary to gain further information about what happened that day.

Approximately 1,800 students attend Oxford High School, according to the sheriff.

Asked if school officials may potentially be charged, McDonald said: "The investigation’s ongoing."

Authorities are also looking into charges for the person who "aided" James and Jennifer Crumbley into the building where they were captured. On Sunday, the person was identified and his lawyer said in a statement that he "voluntarily contacted" police after learning of the Crumbleys' arrests on Dec. 4.

"He maintains his innocence throughout this process and is fully cooperating with law enforcement to assist in their investigation."

James Crumbley could also potentially be charged for purchasing the gun for Ethan. McDonald said that would be the decision of federal authorities.

Authorities across the metro Detroit region also investigated a ‘tidal wave’ of copycat threats following the shooting. More than 80 school districts were closed Friday, Dec. 3 amid investigations.

RELATED: Some 80 schools closed Friday amid copycat threats of violence at districts

Oxford High School ‘rumors’ weeks before shooting

Less than three weeks before the deadly shooting, the school district sent a letter to parents addressing "rumors" that had "created some concern for students and parents," according to FOX 2.

The letter mentioned an incident from the week before. According to a Nov. 4 letter written by Principal Steve Wolf, someone threw a deer head into a courtyard from the school’s roof, painted several windows on the roof with red acrylic paint and used the same paint on the concrete near the school building during the early morning hours.

According to the district, some rumors had originated from that incident — while others were not connected.

The district said it had investigated each concern shared by parents and students and found that there were no threats to students or buildings. It added that "student interpretations of social media posts and false information have exacerbated the overall concern."

Both the sheriff and undersheriff emphasized that Tuesday’s shooting was unrelated to the deer head or any earlier investigation by their office.

"That was a different incident, different student," McCabe said.