After A Lengthy Manhunt, The Parents Of A Michigan School Shooting Suspect Have Been Apprehended.
The parents of the high school sophomore suspected of killing four classmates in Detroit were detained early Saturday morning, more than 12 hours after they were charged with involuntary manslaughter. Soon after they were discovered at a commercial facility in Detroit after authorities received a tip that their car had been seen in the vicinity, James and Jennifer Crumbley pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them. The parents of Ethan Crumbley were each given a bond of $500,000 by an Oakland County judge.
The couple's arrest brought to an end a period of conflicting claims in which authorities said they were seeking for them while their lawyer claimed they had left town "for their own protection."and had no intention of giving up. Chief James E. White of the Detroit Police Department made it apparent that he didn't believe the explanation. White explained, "This isn't symptomatic of handing yourself in—hiding in a warehouse."
According to authorities, someone assisted the Crumbleys in entering the building where they were staying, and that individual could face charges as well. When they were apprehended, the couple appeared "distressed," but did not struggle, according to White. The Crumbleys were charged in part because they purchased the pistol that their 15-year-old son is accused of using in the shooting at Oxford High School, some 30 miles north of Detroit, on Tuesday.
Prosecutors claim that not only did the Crumbleys provide their son access to a handgun, but they also ignored many warning signs that he was about to do violence. The high school became concerned on Monday, a day before the massacre, when the suspect was seen on his phone looking for ammunition. His mother was called, but she afterwards texted her son, saying, "Lol. I'm not angry with you. You must learn to avoid being caught." The next day, after a teacher discovered a note on his desk with images of a gun, a person who had been shot, and the lines "Blood everywhere," and "The next day," the school contacted the suspect's parents.