Prosecutor reviews if parents of accused school shooter Ethan Crumbley should face charges
FOX 2 - The Oakland County prosecutor used one word to describe her interaction with the parents of the alleged Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley.
"Difficult," said Karen McDonald.
According to the Oakland County sheriff, the 15-year-old sophomore used his dad's 9mm semi-automatic handgun that he bought on Black Friday to take the lives of four students and injure seven others.
"We know owning a gun means securing it properly locked up and keeping ammunition separate and not allowing access to other individuals especially minors," McDonald said.
It's not clear how the high school sophomore was able to get his hands on his father's weapon. Although she didn't elaborate, McDonald says her office is considering charges against both James and Jennifer Crumbley who were seen online attending Ethan's arraignment.
"We will be making a decision swiftly," McDonald said.
"You can’t allow anyone under the age of 18 unsupervised access to your handguns," said Bill Kucyk.
Kucyk, the owner of Action Impact Gun Range, says the state and federal law are very clear - but usually just impacts the owner of the gun.
Action Impact Gun Range owner Bill Kucyk says the Sig Sauer 9mm SP 2022 allegedly used in the school shooting, has a hair-trigger and can shoot and cycle quicker than others.
It is not clear where James Crumbley purchased the 9mm Sig Sauer SP 2022 - but Kucyck says it is not in stock at many dealers because that model hasn't been manufactured in several years.
Kucyk says the gun has a hair-trigger and can shoot and cycle quicker than others, could have been purchased through a private seller.
"If it was purchased from a citizen and the buyer has a concealed pistol license – then you need only to execute is a pistol sales record and there wouldn’t be a background check," Kucyk said.
FOX 2 looked into the criminal background of both James and Jennifer Crumbley which include driving under the influence, driving on a suspended license, and writing worthless checks - all misdemeanors when they lived in Florida. It would not prevent them from passing a background check mandated by the state to purchase a gun.
More Coverage:
- Oxford High School shooting suspect and parents met with school leaders same day as shooting, sheriff says
- Prosecutor 'doesn't have words' after watching Oxford High School video of teen suspect
- Calls to revisit gun laws emerge in wake of Oxford teen mass shooting
- Oxford shooting victim update: 1 in critical condition, 2 in stable and 3 discharged from hospital
"If the incident yesterday with four kids being murdered and multiple kids being injured not enough to revisit our gun laws I don’t know what is," said McDonald.
But when it comes to safety in schools, Kucyk doesn't believe we need stricter laws, just more protection by arming willing teachers and staff.
"When you are facing someone with a firearm you don’t have many options," Kucyk said. "Fortunately more children weren't killed in this."
Ethan Crumbley's parents James and Jennifer appeared during the alleged school shooter's court hearing on Zoom Wednesday.
Sheriff Michael Bouchard said that the shooter fired more than 30 rounds and had more ammunition on him - raising the question of if he got that from his father as well.