A 15-year-old student opened fire at his high school in the American state of Michigan, killing four students and injuring seven on Tuesday.
Local government lawyers announced Wednesday that the student, Ethan Crumbley, will be charged with murder and terrorism. The young suspect is accused of firing a semi-automatic handgun in the shooting at Oxford High School. It is about 48 kilometers north of the city of Detroit. The gun was purchased four days earlier by his father.
Mourners grieve at a memorial at Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich., Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. Authorities say a 15-year-old sophomore opened fire at Oxford High School, killing four students and wounding seven other people on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said the shooting should bring attention to the need for new gun laws in the country. She asked “How many times does this have to happen? How many times?”
The shooting
The four students who were killed were 16-year-old Tate Myre, 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin and Justin Shilling, who died Wednesday.
Six students between the age of 14 and 17 remained hospitalized with gunshot wounds. A teacher was also injured in the shooting.
On Tuesday, officers rushed to the school at around the time of the midday meal as more than 100 calls came in with reports of a shooter. They arrested the shooter within minutes of their arrival. He put his hands in the air to surrender to officers, Bouchard said.
Officials said the suspect fired about 30 shots. The gun still had seven more bullets when he surrendered.
The high school was locked down during the attack. Some students hid in locked classrooms. They were later taken to a nearby food store to be recovered by their parents.
Jesse Holt is a clergyman at LakePoint Community Church. He received news of the shooting and text messages from some of the 20 to 25 students who are members of the church.
“Some were very scared, hiding under their desks and texting us, ‘We’re safe, we’re OK. We heard gunshots, but we’re OK.’ They were trying to calm us, at least that’s how it felt,” he said.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement, “No one should be afraid to go to school.” Later at a news conference, she added, “I think this is every parent’s worst nightmare.”
Deadliest school shooting this year
Education Week said the Oxford High School incident was the deadliest school shooting in the United States this year. The publication said there had been at least 28 school shootings in 2021, including 20 since the start of the school year on August 1.
In 2020, there were just 10 recorded school shootings. At the time, many students turned to online learning during the coronavirus health crisis. But school shootings have increased with 86 incidents since 2018.
At the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, a shooter killed 14 students and three school officials in February 2018. Later in the year, a 17-year-old student shot and killed eight students and two teachers at Santa Fe High School in Texas.
I’m Jonathan Evans.
Hai Do adapted this story based on Associated Press, Reuters and Education Week reports. Mario Ritter Jr. was the editor.
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Words in This Story
insight –n. the ability to understand people and situations in a very clear way
motive –n. a reason for doing something
lock down –v. (phrasal) to make people stay in a place during an emergency in order to keep them safe
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