School Emergency Oxford High School

School Shooting: Oxford High School Shooting

Sadly, many terrible school shootings have occurred in recent memory, to the point that they do not even always make much of an impression on the public consciousness. But the November 30, 2021 shooting at Oxford High School in Oakland County, Michigan—which ended in four fatalities and the injuries of seven others—is noteworthy because of the currently ongoing civil lawsuit being waged by the survivors against the dean of students, principal, three of the teachers, and two of the counselors for not taking sufficient action to protect the student body against the accused student shooter Ethan Crumbley (Ley & Carr, 2022).

The shooting began with Crumbley staging an attack in the bathroom and then followed with the alleged shooter attacking two girls in the hallway. The next victims included John Asciutto and Marco Vackaro, the former of whom was wounded, although both escaped (Ley & Carr, 2022). Vackaro’s brother hid for an hour in the school, terrified for his life (Ley & Carr, 2022). The civil lawsuit implicates the counselor Shawn Hopkins who testified he was concerned Crumbley’s mental health and supervision was being neglected by his parents, but Hopkins failed to file the necessary paperwork with child protective services to ensure the student received the help he needed and was not a danger to others (Ley & Carr, 2022). The state charged the alleged shooter’s parents with involuntary manslaughter, and at their criminal trial the counselor was cross-examined by the defense as to why he did not search Ethan Crumbley’s backpack after the student came to see him in great distress the morning of the shooting (Colthorp & Carr, 2022).

Had Hopkins done so, he would have found the gun. There was also evidence in the alleged shooter’s journal detailing his plans to kill students, including any girl with a future he wished to make suffer as he had suffered (Ley & Carr, 2022). However, the Oakland County prosecutor said there was no criminal case against the school personnel worth pursuing (Ley & Carr, 2022). Still, this highlights the lack of monitoring and warnings regarding students who may pose a danger to themselves and the school present at the high school. At minimum, a lack of due diligence was performed by the school counselor to assess the threat posed by the alleged shooter, and the student’s parents (according to his journal) repeatedly ignored the many red flags he posted regarding his feelings of inferiority and perceived mistreatment at school.

According to the involuntary manslaughter trial of Crumbley’s parents, the student complained about hearing voices, said his parents did not get him adequate help, and when found looking at ammunition in class, the school dismissed the seriousness of these actions, saying that many students go to shooting ranges for fun at the high school (Ley & Clarke, 2022). If students had been searched for firearms upon entering the school, the shooting could have been prevented. Also, Crumbley did not conceal his mental illness, but appeared to want help for it. At minimum, given his emotional difficulties, having firearms in the home at close proximity seems reckless, although the parents have expressed remorse for their son’s actions (Ley & Clarke, 2022). It is also worth noting that there is apparently a strong gun culture in the area which normalized his behaviors, including an interest in guns as well as possession.

Security at the school was clearly not sufficient to prevent a student from bringing a gun onto its premises. Additionally, students expressing depression or suicidal ideation who could become violent were not given adequate counseling. Although Crumbley would still have been dangerous, and there is no guarantee that psychological help could have cured him, as with the Columbine shootings, greater diligence may have flagged the student’s behavior and resulted in him being restrained as a danger to others and provided with help. Metal detectors and random searches of students deemed to be a potential risk would likewise have been helpful. Although the Oxford shooting exhibited many acts of negligence on the part of authorities, the students also appeared to be better aware of how to shield themselves than the Columbine victims, given their escape from the building, although the fact there was only one shooter clearly also made a difference.