Parents of Michigan school shooter to stand trial for manslaughter

The parents of a boy who shot and killed four high school classmates must be tried for manslaughter, a Michigan appeals court has ruled.

Ethan Cranbury, 16, has pleaded guilty to terrorism and murder charges in the November 2021 shooting at Oxford High School.

His parents have been charged with four counts of manslaughter.

Prosecutors alleged that James and Jennifer Cranbury let their son get a gun easily and didn’t pay attention to warning signs.

The ruling marks a rare instance in the United States where prosecutors seek to hold parents accountable for their children’s role in mass shootings.

On November 30, 2021, 15-year-old Ethan Cranbury allegedly used his father’s semi-automatic pistol to kill four students and wound six students and a teacher in the small town of Oxford, Michigan. It is

In a written opinion Thursday, the Michigan Court of Appeals found ample evidence that Jennifer and James Cranbury knew “uniquely disturbing facts” that could have acted to prevent the student’s death. Said there was.

Parents were “actively involved [their son’s] The mental condition remains untreated,” said Judge Christopher Murray. His parents “provided him with the weapons they used to kill the victim” and “refused to take him out of the situation that directly led to the shooting,” Murray claimed.

Prosecutors allege the Cranburys ignored their son’s depression and interest in guns.

On the day of the shooting, school administrators met with James and Jennifer Cranbury and found a painting by their son depicting a gun and the words “Thoughts Help Me”. He asked the parents to seek counseling for their son within 48 hours and agreed, but refused to take Ethan home. He returned to the classroom with the gun and hid it in his backpack.

The BBC has reached out to the Cranburys’ lawyers for comment.

Ethan Cranbury faces life in prison without parole.

A 2019 U.S. Department of Homeland Security report found that in 76% of school firearm attacks, the shooter removed the weapon from the home of a parent or another immediate family member. However, parents and relatives are rarely prosecuted for child crimes.

Karen McDonald, the Michigan prosecutor who indicted the Cranburys shortly after the shootings, told The New York Times in 2021 that the indictment decision represented “a whole new way to approach school shootings.” said there is. murder.