OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. — A 15-year-old sophomore opened fire at his Michigan high school on Tuesday, killing four students and wounding seven other people, including a teacher, authorities said.
The suspect has now been identified as Ethan Crumbley, an Oxford resident. He will be tried as an adult on multiple charges and will be transferred to an adult corrections center, where he will stay in isolation. He pled not guilty in court Wednesday.
The victims who died have been identified as Tate Myre, a 16-year-old student, Hana St. Juliana, a 14-year-old student, Madisyn Baldwin, a 17-year-old student, and Justin Shilling, a 17-year-old student.
The Oakland Sheriff's Office said Justin Shilling died at the hospital Wednesday morning.
One deputy loaded Myre, who was critically injured, into his vehicle to bring him to the hospital. He died in the deputy's car.
Several of the victims are suffering life-threatening injuries, including one 14-year-old girl who is on a ventilator.
The teacher who was hit by gunfire has been released from the hospital with a graze wound on her left shoulder. A deputy has been assigned to each of the affected families.
Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe said at a news conference that he didn't know what Crumbley's motives were for the attack at Oxford High School in Oxford Township, a community of about 22,000 people roughly 30 miles north of Detroit.
Crumbley was in class on Tuesday prior to the shooting, police said. His parents were summoned to a meeting at the school just a few hours before the bloodshed.
While presenting charges to the judge, Lt. Tim Willis with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office said Crumbley posted a video on Monday, saying wanted to bring a gun to Oxford High School the next day. His journal also detailed that he wanted to shoot up the school and kill his classmates.
At 12:55 p.m., officers responded to a flood of around 100 calls about an active shooter at the school, McCabe said. Authorities arrested Crumbley within 3 minutes of arrival and recovered a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol and several clips.
The gun was purchased by Crumbley's father just four days prior to Tuesday's shooting. He had practiced shooting with the gun and posted pictures of it and the target on social media prior to bringing the gun to school.
When Crumbley was arrested in the hallway, he had seven rounds left in the gun and 11 more in his pocket.
"That could've been seven more victims," Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. "This is the worst kind of tragedy... sadly, it happened in a sweet, quiet community like Oxford."
Police say they were unaware of any warning signs.
“Deputies confronted him, he had the weapon on him, they took him into custody,” McCabe said, declining to share more detail about the arrest.
Bouchard said there was no known record of bullying or mental health issues for Crumbley.
“I’m shocked. It’s devastating,” said Tim Throne, the shaken superintendent of Oxford Community Schools.
"There is nothing that he could've faced that would have warranted this absolutely brutal violence on other kids," Bouchard said.
The school was placed on lockdown after the attack, with some children sheltering in locked classrooms while officers searched the premises. They were later taken to a nearby Meijer grocery store to be picked up by their parents.
McCabe said investigators will be looking through social media posts for any evidence of a motive.
Robin Redding, the parent of a 12th-grader, told The Associated Press that there had been rumblings of trouble at the school.
“He was not in school today. He just said that ‘Ma I don’t feel comfortable. None of the kids that we go to school with are going today,’” Redding said.
Police have reached out to Crumbley's parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, who did not want to speak and got an attorney. His phone has been seized by police and he is on suicide watch in the juvenile detention center, authorities said.
"I hope we can all rise to the occasion and wrap our arms around the families, the affected children and school personnel, and this community," said Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer through tears at the 5 p.m. press conference.
"This is a uniquely American problem that we need to address," she said. "But I think it's too early to talk about policies that might need to change as a result of this. At this point, we need to focus on the tragedy at hand."
Oxford Community Schools will be closed for the remainder of the week and grief counseling will be available.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Oakland County Sheriff's Office at 248-858-4911 or OCSO@Oakgov.com.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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