The father of one of the victims killed at Oxford High School has taken aim at Ethan Crumbley’s parents for doing “nothing” while their son was “crying out for help” in the lead-up to the mass shooting.
Buck Myre told ClickonDetroit that James and Jennifer Crumbley were not “very good mentors” to the 15-year-old alleged gunman and “failed everybody” by turning a blind eye to the warning signs of his disturbing behaviour.
“I don’t like to use their name. But the shooter did not have very good mentors. It’s obvious, what we’ve all read and learned, right?” he said.
“But obviously, they’re part of the puzzle. No doubt.”
Mr Myre’s son Tate Myre was fatally shot while trying to protect his classmates from the gunman who opened fire in the hallway of the Michigan high school back on 30 November.
The 16-year-old died in a police car as officers tried to rush him to hospital for treatment.
He was one of four students killed that day in the deadliest high school shooting in America since Parkland in 2018. The other victims were Justin Shilling, 17, Hana St. Juliana, 14, and Madisyn Baldwin, 17.
Mr Myre said that he is “angry” with the Crumbleys for giving their son access to a firearm when they knew he was “not in a good state of mind”.
“They didn’t take any time with him, they were out doing their thing, and he’s doing his thing,” he said.
“They’ve got a weapon that they just bought and they know that he’s not in a good state of mind and they should have a pulse on that as parents, and they didn’t.
“They don’t care, right? So, yeah, I’m angry at them for sure.”
He added that he doesn’t know what he would say to the Crumbleys if he saw them but is sure he will “see them someday and I’ll say it”.
Prosecutors said the Crumbleys gave their 15-year-old son the handgun used in the mass shooting as an early Christmas present days before the shooting.
They also ignored multiple red flags about his concerning behaviour and refused to remove him from the school the morning of the attack despite the request of staff members.
Last month, Mr Myre filed a lawsuit against the Crumbleys for intentional, reckless and negligent conduct, saying that they are “equally liable” with their son for the massacre at the high school.
Now, the grieving father said his family is honouring his son’s life with the launch of a nonprofit called 42 Strong which focuses on mentoring students who need support.
He called for mental health to be made “a priority” in the wake of the tragedy.
He said it was clear that the suspected gunman “was raising his hand” and had “zero purpose” in the run-up to the attack, but both his parents and school officials “did nothing about it”.
“This kid was raising his hand all day long, crying out for help. Now, he didn’t just come out and say, ‘Hey I need help,’ but look at the stuff that’s out there,” he told ClickonDetroit.
“He was raising his hand. Parents did nothing about it, school did nothing about it. The system failed him. The system failed everybody that day. So, how can we change that?
“We need to start making this mental health thing a priority. That kid had nothing. He had zero purpose in his life. That’s why November 30 happened. He had zero purpose.”
In the aftermath of the shooting, it emerged that Ethan had shown a pattern of disturbing behaviour in the weeks and months prior.
He allegedly brought a bird’s head in a mason jar and placed it in the boy’s bathroom at the school weeks before the shooting.
The teenager had also told his parents he had seen demons and believed their house was haunted, text messages shown in court earlier this month revealed.
Prosecutors said that the day before the shooting, the suspect was caught by a teacher looking up ammunition in the classroom.
School staff contacted the Crumbleys but they allegedly ignored the messages.
He also wrote on social media that day: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds. See you tomorrow Oxford.”
Then, on the morning of the shooting, officials said another teacher then found a drawing on the teenager’s desk of a handgun, a bullet and a person being shot.
“The thoughts won’t stop, help me” and “blood everywhere” were scrawled on the note.
That time, his parents were called in to the school and a meeting was held with them, their son and school officials.
The teenager claimed that the drawings were simply designs for a video game, according to school officials.
His parents fought to have him returned to class, prosecutors said, and were told to get him counselling within 48 hours. Just a few hours later, he allegedly opened fire in the school.
Ethan’s attorneys have said he plans to plead insanity on the charges and must now undergo a psychiatric exam before a trial can proceed.
He is charged as an adult with 24 counts including four counts of first-degree murder and one count of terrorism.
In a rare move by prosecutors, the Crumbley parents have also been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter each for their alleged roles in the massacre.
Mr Myre said there needs to be “accountability” for what happened.
“When it comes to November 30, something went wrong and there needs to be accountability. There has to be accountability because that’s how change happens,” he said.
However, while he wants justice for his son’s death, Mr Myre said none of it matters as it won’t bring Tate back.
“So he gets tried as an adult, and he gets prosecuted, and he’s in for life. And then the parents, they get a life sentence. Whatever. It doesn’t matter,” he said.
“Tate’s not coming home. Do I want there to be justice? Yes. Do I want them to walk? No. But at the end of the day, Tate’s not coming home.”
He added: “We have no more memories to make.”
