A counselor said Monday that the parents of a Michigan school shooter refused to take their son home hours before the attack, instead leaving them with a list of mental health specialists after seeing his violent drawings and troubling communications.
A security camera image of James Crumbley with documents in his hand at Oxford High School was shown to the jury.
“My hope was that they were going to take him to get help,” Shawn Hopkins said. “Let’s have a day where we spend time with you.”
But “there wasn’t any action happening,” he said.
James Crumbley, 47, is currently on trial for involuntary manslaughter. He is accused of failing to safeguard a firearm at home and ignoring indicators of Ethan Crumbley’s mental illness.
No one examined the 15-year-old’s backpack, and he later pulled out a revolver and opened fire on the school on November 30, 2021, killing four kids and injuring others.
On the third day of the trial, prosecutors concentrated on the morning of the shooting.
The Crumbleys had met with staff, who had given them a drawing on Ethan’s math homework depicting a gun, blood, and a wounded person, as well as distressed statements like “The thoughts won’t stop.” Help me. “My life is pointless.”
Hopkins stated that he arranged for the Crumbleys to visit the school and spoke with Ethan prior to their arrival to better understand his perspective. The youngster said, “I understand why this looks horrible. I am not going to do anything.
“I wanted him to get help as soon as possible, today if possible,” Hopkins was quoted as saying. “I was told it wasn’t possible.”
Hopkins stated that he told them he “wanted movement within 48 hours” and that he planned to contact Michigan’s child protection agency if they did not take action.
According to the counselor, Jennifer Crumbley was called just the day before when a teacher noticed Ethan searching for bullets on his phone.
Hopkins stated that Ethan wanted to stay in school. The counselor thought it was a better location for him, especially since he would be alone even if the Crumbleys took him home.
“I made my decision based on the knowledge I had. “I had 90 minutes of information,” Hopkins explained.
Hopkins claims James Crumbley never opposed him when his wife said they couldn’t take Ethan home. And he claimed no one informed him that a new rifle had been purchased just four days prior—oone characterized by Ethan on social media as “my beauty.”
The Crumbleys are the first parents in the United States to face criminal charges in connection with a child-involved mass school shooting. Jennifer Crumbley was convicted of the same involuntary manslaughter charges last month.
Ethan, 17, is currently receiving a life sentence for murder and terrorism.
