More details are coming out about the 15-year-old sophomore from Oxford High School who has been charged with multiple crimes after allegedly opening fire inside the school, leaving four students dead and seven people injured. According to WXYZ, just hours before the shooting spree, Ethan Crumbley told school officials that his “concerning” drawings were for “a video game he was designing.”
The outlet reports that Oxford Community Schools Superintendent Tim Thorne sent out a letter to parents and the community on Saturday that detailed the school’s version of the events leading up to Tuesday’s school shooting.
Thorne said in the letter that they had requested a third-party investigation into the alleged shooter’s interactions with students and staff before the shooting.
The outlet reports that the letter addresses the Nov. 30 meeting Ethan Crumbley had with counselors, saying, “At no time did counselors believe the student might harm others based on his behavior, responses, and demeanor, which appeared calm. In addition, despite media reports, whether or not the gun was in his backpack has not been confirmed by law enforcement to our knowledge nor by our investigation at this time.”
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The letter says that the student’s parents never told the counselors about the gun purchase and that he was returned to class after his parents refused to take him home.
A teacher at Oxford High School found a drawing on Ethan Crumbley’s desk so disturbing that she reportedly took out her cell phone and snapped a photo as evidence to show school officials.
According to the letter, Ethan Crumbley told counselors at the school that the “concerning” drawings were for “a video game he was designing” and said that he planned to pursue a career in the video game industry just hours before the massacre. The drawing displayed a gun, a bullet, a shooting victim, and a laughing emoji.
“On the morning of Nov. 30, a teacher observed concerning drawings and written statements that have been detailed in media reports, which the teacher reported to school counselors and the Dean of students,” the letter reads. “The student was immediately removed from the classroom and brought to the guidance counselor’s office where he claimed the drawing was part of a video game he was designing and informed counselors that he planned to pursue video game design as a career.”
James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of the alleged school shooter, have been charged with four counts each of involuntary manslaughter. Ethan Crumbley faces 24 different counts as an adult.
You can read the full letter below:
Oxford Community Schools Le… by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit
Featured image via mugshot
