OXFORD, Mich. — Four people have died and seven others are wounded after being shot at a Michigan high school Tuesday afternoon. The suspect in the shooting is now facing first-degree murder charges.
What we know so far about those who’ve passed
The four people who have passed away as a result of the Oxford High School shooting have been identified as 16-year-old Tate Myre, 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin, and 17-year-old Justin Shilling.
A 14-year-old girl is in critical condition with chest and neck gunshot wounds. She underwent surgery and is currently on a ventilator. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said it is "looking tough" for this girl.
Two other victims are in critical condition, a 15-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to the head and a 17-year-old girl.
Other victims include:
- A 14-year-old boy in serious condition
- A 17-year-old girl in stable condition
- A 15-year-old boy in stable condition
- A 47-year-old teacher discharged with a graze wound
One of the students who passed away, Tate Myre, played football for Oxford High School and had recently visited the University of Toledo, according to a tweet sent on Nov. 28.
Oxford Football paid tribute to Myre, writing, "It is with great grief that one of the victims of the tragic event at OHS today was one of our own, Tate Myre. Tate was on varsity since his freshman year and was an honor student. Tate was a great young man with a bright future and beloved by all. You will be missed, Tate. Tate was a wonderful young man who was tremendously hardworking and respectful. He was a tremendous football player with the brightest of futures and was an even better young man off the field as he was on it. We all loved Tate and he will so very much be missed."
What we know so far about the suspect and the shooting
A 15-year-old student, a sophomore at the school, has been taken into custody. Police say he fired 15-20 shots at the school in the south end, and he was taken into custody within five minutes.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald identified the student as Ethan Crumbley and she announced Wednesday that he’s facing four counts of first-degree murder, one count of terrorism causing death, seven counts of assault with intent to murder, and 12 counts of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He’s being charged as an adult.
The prosecutor added that her office is considering charges against both of the suspected shooter's parents.
"We will be making a decision swiftly," she said regarding those possible charges.
Police said the suspect's father purchased the gun that was used in the shooting four days ago. They found seven rounds in the 9mm pistol when they took him into custody.
“As they were coming down the hall, they saw him, he put his hands up, they took his gun and took him into custody," Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said during an evening press conference.
He commended the hundreds of first responders that assisted at the scene.
“I’m extremely proud of the deputies, our partners, the fire departments, and EMS for their intervening actions,” Boucharad said. "I believe they literally saved lives having taken down the suspect with a loaded firearm still in the building.”
Dr. Tressa Gardner with McLaren Health Care spoke during the evening briefing and said their system initiated their incident command by shutting down surgeries and activating additional resources to prepare for victims that would need treatment.
“We’re in a partnership together (with the sheriff’s department),” Gardner said. “The quick notification from the sheriff’s department initiated the activation of our trauma team.”
According to police, the suspect's parents have been in contact with the suspect and told him not to talk to the police. Police say the parents have also hired a lawyer. He is currently being held at Children's Village.
Authorities said they received over 100 calls to 911 about the shooting at the school shortly before 1 p.m.
Students have told WXYZ they heard an ALICE warning over the intercom as the shooting was happening.
“We kept hearing ALICE LOCKDOWN, ALICE LOCKDOWN ... I was just scared. I was praying for my safety, my friends' safety, everyone’s safety,” said one student.
“I just kept thinking it’s probably a suspicious person walking campus, they’ll get them in a minute and it’ll be over,“ said another student. “In various group chats, I start to get messages saying, ‘This person got shot, that person got shot,’ and immediately I was like OK this is real.”
A mother, who was reunited with her child at Meijer, said, “I was scared, I have never been so scared in my life, and when I came to Meijer, I ran to him and he picked me up and gave me the biggest hug of my life.”
School officials say all of the schools in the district, including OELC, will be closed for the rest of the week. A 24/7 Resource and Crisis Helpline/Text/Chat is available for anyone who would like to speak with someone about today's events. That number is 1-800-231-1127.
"As we face the unimaginable, we are grateful for the swift action of our first responders," a statement from Oxford Community Schools read.
This story was originally published by staff at WXYZ.
