Michigan school shooting: Suspect pleads not guilty to killing 4, injuring 7 at Oxford High School

OXFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A 15-year-old Michigan boy is accused of shooting 11 people at Oxford High School on Tuesday afternoon, killing four fellow students and wounding at least seven others, authorities said.

>> Read more trending news

Update 4:50 p.m. EST Dec. 1: A judge ordered Ethan Crumbley, 15, be held in an adult facility and not a juvenile detention center as he awaits trial on charges connected to Tuesday’s deadly shooting.

Deputies said Crumbley would not be held with other inmates in the facility.

“I’m going to certainly err on the side of caution,” Judge Nancy Karniak said. “I would agree with (Prosecutor Marc) Keast, this is the perfect example of a case that should be done to protect other juveniles. So, I will have him moved to that facility as it has been indicated that he will be in isolation and ... will not be in contact with any other adult inmates but only that of sheriff’s deputies.”

Update 4:40 p.m. EST Dec. 1: Ethan Crumbley, 15, pleaded not guilty to charges including first-degree murder and terrorism causing death during a virtual appearance Wednesday in court. A judge ordered him held without bond ahead of his trial.

Crumbley appeared for an arraignment one day after authorities said he shot and killed four classmates and injured seven other people at Oxford High School. He wore what appeared to be a green jumpsuit and a face mask while appearing in video from Children’s Village, the juvenile detention center in Oakland County. He spoke briefly to confirm that he understood the charges levied against him and that he understood his right to remain silent.

Prosecutor Marc Keast said video from Oxford High School showed Crumbley walking into a bathroom with a backpack just before 1 p.m. Tuesday and exiting with a handgun.

“He methodically and deliberately walked down the hallway, aiming the firearm at students and firing,” Keast said. “After children started running away from the defendant, he continued down the hallway -- again at a deliberate and methodical pace -- pointing and aiming inside classrooms and at students who hadn’t had the opportunity to escape.”

Keast said the shooting went on for four or five minutes before deputies arrived and Crumbley surrendered. Citing social media, video and other evidence, Keast said that the 15-year-old planned the shooting in advance.

“He deliberately brought the handgun that day with the intent to murder as many students as he could,” the prosecutor said.

Earlier, Lt. Tim Willis of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said video taken from Crumbley’s cellphone showed him talking about shooting and killing students at Oxford High School. He said authorities also found a notebook of Crumbley’s in which he detailed “his desire to shoot up a school, to include murdering students.”

Sheriff Mike Bouchard said at a news conference that authorities did not see any evidence that Crumbley had specifically targeted the students killed or injured. He said Crumbley’s parents had been called to Oxford High School for a face-to-face meeting with officials earlier Tuesday due to concerns about unspecified behavioral issues.

Update 4 p.m. EST Dec. 1: Authorities said in court that videos taken from Ethan Crumbley’s cellphone the day before investigators said he opened fire at Oxford High School, killing four people and injuring seven others, showed he planned the shooting at least a day in advance.

“He talked about shooting and killing students the next day at Oxford High School,” Lt. Tim Willis of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said. “Further, a journal was recovered from Ethan’s backpack also detailing his desire to shoot up a school, to include murdering students.”

Willis said video taken from a school security camera showed Crumbley exiting from a bathroom to a hallway at Oxford High School on Tuesday afternoon before he began to shoot at students. Earlier, Sheriff Mike Bouchard said he did not see any evidence that Crumbley targeted the specific students injured. Willis said Crumbley shot at students as they tried to flee from the area.

Crumbley faces charges including four counts of first-degree murder. He is being arraigned Wednesday afternoon.

Update 3:50 p.m. EST Dec. 1: Tuesday’s shooting did not appear to be targeted toward specific students, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said at a news conference Wednesday.

“We have no indication that these students were specifically targeted, and based on what I’ve seen I don’t think that was the case,” he said.

Authorities did not immediately share a possible motive for the shooting. Bouchard said Tuesday that the suspect, identified as 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, declined to speak with deputies after his arrest and that his parents have since hired an attorney.

Deputies said four students died after being shot Tuesday while six other students and a teacher were injured. The slain students were identified as Hana St. Juliana, 14; Tate Myre, 16; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; and Justin Shilling, 17.

Update 3:45 p.m. EST Dec. 1: Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said deputies had no information about suspected school shooter Ethan Crumbley, 15, before Tuesday’s deadly attack; however, he said school officials had contact with the teenager shortly before gunshots rang out.

“The school did have contact with the student the day before and the day of the shooting for behavior in the classroom that they felt was concerning,” Bouchard said at a news conference. “In fact, the parents were brought in the morning of the shooting and had a face-to-face meeting with the school.”

He declined to elaborate on what behavior prompted the meeting at the school, although he said the “content of that meeting, obviously, is part of that investigation.”

Update 3:25 p.m. EST Dec. 1: Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said four people remained hospitalized Wednesday after they were injured in Tuesday’s deadly shooting at Oxford High School.

The sheriff identified those who remained hospitalized as:

• A 17-year-old girl with a gunshot wound to her neck
• A 14-year-old girl who was moved from critical to stable condition after suffering gunshot wounds to her chest and neck
• A 17-year-old girl who was in critical condition with a gunshot wound to her chest

Three people were discharged after being injured in the shooting, including a 47-year-old teacher who had a grazing gunshot wound to her shoulder, a 15-year-old boy who had been shot in his left leg and a 17-year-old who was shot in the hip.

Bouchard said authorities have so far recovered 30 spent shell casings from the scene and that the suspect shooter, identified as 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, had 18 other rounds on him when he was apprehended.

“The quick actions of the school and the lockdown as well as the deputies getting in and going to the sound, going to the danger, saved lives,” he said.

Update 3:05 p.m. EST Dec. 1: Authorities charged Ethan Crumbley, 15, with one count of terrorism causing death because of the impact Tuesday’s shooting had on students who weren’t shot or injured, prosecutor Karen McDonald said.

She said the other charges filed against the teenager -- four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder and 12 counts of possession of a firearm in commission of a felony -- were for the victims who were slain or injured in the attack.

“But what about all these other children?” McDonald said at a news conference Wednesday. “What about all the children who ran, screaming, hiding under desks? What about all the children at home right now who can’t eat and can’t sleep and can’t imagine a world where they could ever step ... foot back in that school? Those are victims too, and so are their families, and so is the community, and so the charge of terrorism reflects that.”

Update 2:55 p.m. EST Dec. 1: Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said officials are looking into filing possible charges against the parents of the teenager arrested following Tuesday’s shooting at Oxford High School.

“We are considering charges against both parents and we will be making (a) decision swiftly,” she said.

Authorities arrested Ethan Crumbley, 15, to face charges including four counts of murder in Tuesday’s shooting. Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said officials seized a loaded 9mm pistol from him as he was coming down a hallway at Oxford High School on Tuesday afternoon.

A preliminary investigation showed that the gun had been bought by the teenager’s father four days before the shooting.

Crumbley said the suspect has declined to speak with investigators and that his parents have since hired an attorney.

Update 2:45 p.m. EST Dec. 1: The teenager accused of killing four of his classmates and injuring seven others Tuesday at Oxford High School will be arraigned later Wednesday, Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said at a news conference.

Ethan Crumbley, 15, faces several charges, including one count of terrorism causing death and four counts of first-degree murder.

“I am committed to doing my part to ensure we honor the lives of those lost -- those taken -- by pursuing this case with the full weight of this office,” McDonald said at a news conference.

She said Tuesday’s shooting was “absolutely premeditated,” but declined to elaborate on the evidence showing as much for fear of jeopardizing the case.

Update 2:40 p.m. EST Dec. 1: Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said other charges could be filed against Ethan Crumbley, the 15-year-old arrested after Tuesday’s deadly shooting at Oxford High School.

McDonald said the teenager was being charged as an adult due to the seriousness of the crimes he’s accused of carrying out. Among other charges, he faces four counts of first-degree murder.

“There are facts leading up (to) this shooting that suggest this was not just an impulsive act,” McDonald said Wednesday, though she declined to elaborate, saying such details “could affect the prosecution of this case.”

Update 2:30 p.m. EST Dec. 1: Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald identified the student arrested in Tuesday’s deadly shooting as Ethan Crumbley, 15.

“We are charging this individual with one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder and 12 counts of possession of a firearm in commission of a felony,” she said.

Update 12:40 p.m. EST Dec. 1: Authorities confirmed in a Facebook post that Justin Shilling, 17, has died of his injuries following Tuesday’s deadly shooting.

Update 12:30 p.m. EST Dec. 1: A fourth student has died following Tuesday’s shooting at Oxford High School, The Oakland Press reported, citing Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe.

In a statement obtained by the newspaper, McCabe identified the slain student as Justin Shilling, 17. He died around 10 a.m. Wednesday at McLaren Oakland Hospital in Pontiac, McCabe said.

>> PHOTOS: Michigan school shooting leaves 3 students dead, 8 people hurt

Update 3:23 a.m. EST Dec. 1: Authorities have identified the three students killed Tuesday in a school shooting in Oxford Township, Michigan.

According to The Associated Press, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said late Tuesday that the three slain students were Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Madisyn Baldwin, 17.

Authorities said the gun used in the shooting, a 9 mm Sig Sauer, was purchased Friday by the suspect’s father, the AP reported. The 15-year-old suspect remains in custody but has not been publicly identified.

Update 5:35 p.m. EST Nov. 30: According to authorities, those students killed included a 16-year-old boy and two girls, ages 14 and 17. Meanwhile, local officials confirmed that two of the wounded are undergoing surgery.

Michigan’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, expressed condolences to the victims in the following statement: “Gun violence is a public health crisis that claims lives every day. We have the tools to reduce gun violence in Michigan. This is a time for us to come together and help our children feel safe at school.”

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden, when asked about the shooting, stated to reporters that his “heart goes out to the families enduring the unimaginable grief of losing a loved one.”

Original report: The shooter has been identified only as a sophomore at the school, and a teacher is among the wounded, but authorities have not yet publicly named the suspect or victims.

Deputies were called to Oxford High School just before 1 p.m., and a secondary search for potential victims is ongoing, MLive.com reported.

Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe said at a news conference that he did not know what the shooter’s motives were for the attack. He did, however, confirm that the suspect was not injured when he was taken into custody and that he refused to say how he got the gun into the school.

According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, a semi-autmatic handgun, the weapon investigators believe was used in the shooting, has been recovered.

Authorities arrested the suspect at the school and recovered several clips in addition to the gun.

“Deputies confronted him. He had the weapon on him. They took him into custody,” McCabe said during the briefing, declining to share more detail about the arrest.

Tim Throne, the superintendent of Oxford Community Schools, said he did not yet know the victims’ names or whether their families had been contacted.

“I’m shocked. It’s devastating,” the shaken superintendent told reporter during the news conference.

Officials confirmed that nearly 60 ambulances, two helicopters and 100 detectives, including state police, Oakland County sheriff’s deputies and the FBI, were dispatched to the scene at the suburban high school with nearly 1,600 students, MLive.com reported.

Meanwhile, a staging area was established at the Meijer store near the high school where students can be reunited with parents or relatives.

Oxford Township is a community of about 22,000 people roughly 30 miles north of Detroit.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

0 of 17

©2021 Cox Media Group