Teachers reported concerns about suspect days before Michigan school shooting

by Sarakshi Rai - 12/02/21 11:54 AM ET

Two teachers at Oxford High School in Oakland County, Mich., reported concerns over Ethan Crumbley’s behavior in the days before the 15-year-old went on a shooting spree, killing four of his classmates and leaving seven others injured, according to the county sheriff.

School authorities also met with his parents the morning of the shooting.

Concerns over Crumbley’s behavior were first reported on Monday after “a teacher in the classroom where he was a student saw and heard something that she felt was concerning,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said on CNN’s “New Day.”

Crumbley underwent a counseling session with school officials, and a phone call was made to his parents after the report.

On Tuesday, the morning of the shooting, his parents were called in shortly after 10 a.m. after “a different teacher in a different classroom saw some behavior that they felt was concerning, and they brought the child down to an office,” Bouchard said.

The parents left the school after the meeting, but Crumbley was allowed to remain at school. Bouchard said the content of that meeting is still under investigation. Authorities received the first 911 call about the shooting at 12:51 p.m. on Tuesday.

“We had no information from the school, but we have since learned that 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 Wednesday press conference.

The sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post that the recent meetings were the only behavioral issues in Crumbley’s school record.

“Nothing of concern was noted in his school file prior to the first meeting. There are also no documented cases of bullying of the suspect with the school,” it said.

The Oakland Country Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.

Two hours after the second meeting, Crumbley left the bathroom with a loaded handgun and started shooting, the sheriff said on Tuesday.

Bouchard said the teenager did not leave the school after the meeting, but had remained on campus and possibly kept the gun in his backpack or tucked in his waistband.

Bouchard also confirmed that the gun Crumbley is believed to have used to carry out the Tuesday attack was bought by his father on Black Friday.

Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said the attack was premeditated, pointing to a “mountain of digital evidence” that authorities had recovered. The teen’s parents may also face criminal charges, McDonald said.

Crumbley will face charges including a count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to commit murder and 12 counts of possession of a firearm in commission of a felony.

Tags Ethan Crumbley Mass shootings in the United States Oxford school shooting