
Michigan school shooting suspect Ethan Crumbley posted a Tweet saying “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds. See you tomorrow Oxford,” on November 29. The next day, he shot and killed 4 people at Oxford High School, injuring 7 others.
The parents of shooting survivor Riley Franz are suing the Oxford, Michigan school district and officials for $100 million, after ignoring several warning signs leading up to the shooting, NPR reported.
The lawsuit, filed by attorney Geoffrey Fieger, accuses school officials of failing to acknowledge direct threats from Crumbley within the weeks leading up to the tragedy, as well as ignoring the concerns from students and parents. The lawsuit states that the school had been notified of Crumbley’s social media threats since mid-November.
The lawsuit tells the account of the school’s response after a parent notified Oxford Principal Steven Wolf of their child’s fears on November 16, Wolf wrote back saying “I know I’m being redundant here, but there is absolutely no threat at the HS…large assumptions were made from a few social media posts, then the assumptions evolved into exaggerated rumors.”
According to the lawsuit, the district superintendent made an announcement over the loudspeaker to the student body, telling them to stop spreading information on social media and relying on it, and that there were no actual threats posed towards the school.
The suit detailed the days leading up to the shooting, stating that Crumbley was posting countdowns on his social media accounts, which were all public.
Crumbley’s parents also provided warning signs on their social media. According to the Washington Post, Ethan’s mother, Jennifer Crumbley, posted that she and Ethan were at the gun range just three days before the shooting, “testing out his new Christmas present.”
The school also failed to remove Crumbley from school the day of the shooting, despite a teacher finding a drawing he made that was so violent it prompted a call home to his parents, who refused to come to the school for a meeting. The Washington Post reported that his “rampage” started only three hours after this.
This is likely only the first of many lawsuits, as Fieger already plans on taking it to the state level.