Four days after 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley opened fire inside his Michigan high school, his parents have also been charged. As Mamas Uncut previously reported, Crumbley has been charged as an adult with murder, terrorism, assault, and weapons possession charges.
And now, as NBC News reports, his mother and father have been charged with four counts of manslaughter. According to The New York Post, Crumbley was allegedly used his father’s 9mm Sig Sauer which was purchased just four days before Ethan brought it to school.
Ethan Crumbley’s Parents Charged After 15-Year-Old Killed Four Students
According to NBC News, involuntary manslaughter charges can be sought “if prosecutors believe someone contributed to a situation where harm or death was high.” Jennifer and James Crumbley could face up to 15 years in prison should they be found guilty.
In a statement made on NBC News NOW, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said it is “clearly a crime” for someone to give a firearm to a minor. Bouchard added that James and Jennifer Crumbley have also refused to cooperate with the authorities and won’t let their son talk with investigators, which is required by law.
“There’s no conversation occurring between us, the suspect or the parents,” Bouchard admitted. In agreement with Bouchard, Oakland, Michigan’s top prosecutor Karen McDonald said that Ethan appeared to have “free access to the gun” he used.
“If you own a weapon or possess a weapon and you knowingly allow someone to have free access to it, who you have reason to believe might use it to injure somebody, that is willful and it’s gross negligence and there are lots of criminal consequences for that.”
Ethan’s actions claimed the lives of four of his classmates and injured others. The victims have been identified as Hana St. Juliana, 14, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Tate Myre, 16, and Justin Shilling, 17.
RELATED: 15-Year-Old Opens Fire in Michigan High School
While the motive for the killings remains unclear, authorities have said they found a video on Ethan’s phone that was made before the shooting. In the video, he allegedly discussed killing students.
A teacher also sent Ethan, who was allegedly bullied, to the office prior to the shooting after noticing concerning behavior. It was later determined that “no discipline was warranted.”