“A Michigan jury’s conviction of Jennifer Crumbley, whose 15-year-old son killed four students at Oxford High School in 2021 in the state’s deadliest school shooting, of four counts of involuntary manslaughter sends a clear message that parents bear some responsibility when they ignore warning signs in their children and fail to lock up deadly firearms in the home.
She is the first parent in the U.S. to be held responsible for a child carrying out a mass school shooting, and the verdict is a landmark in gun violence accountability.
According to trial evidence, Crumbley did not heed teachers’ warnings regarding her son’s disturbing behavior, and gifted her son a semi-automatic pistol and failed to safely store the weapon. Due partly to her negligence, four teenagers are dead, their families torn apart and a community traumatized.
Crumbley’s husband, James, is awaiting trial for the same charges. Their son, Ethan, is serving life in prison without parole.
The devastation of this family adds to the horrific tragedy of the Oxford shooting, because both could have been prevented.”
prosecutorsagv.org 