The Oxford (Mich.) school district failed to take steps to prevent a shooting attack last week that left four students dead, a lawsuit contends.
The Detroit News reports that Oxford Superintendent Timothy Throne, as well as several administrators, teachers and other staff members, have been named as defendants in a lawsuit filed on behalf of two students who survived the Nov. 30 attack.
Four students were shot to death and seven others were wounded when sophomore Ethan Crumbley allegedly opened fire at Oxford High School. Crumbley has been charged with multiple counts of murder and other crimes.
The lawsuit contends that school officials knew the dangers Crumbley posed to campus safety, but failed to remove him from school.
“Despite the posts and knowledge of threats of violence, defendant Throne sent correspondence and emails to parents at Oxford High School reassuring them that their children were safe at Oxford High School,” the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of siblings Riley Franz, 17, a senior, and Bella Franz, 14, a freshman. Riley suffered a gunshot wound in the neck as her sister Bella stood next to her.
The lawsuit contends that school officials ignored several warning signs from Crumbley, including threats posted on social media. Multiple parents alerted Principal Steven Wolf to the online threats on Nov. 16, the suit says.
The day before the shooting, a teacher spotted Crumbley searching for ammunition on his cell phone after his father bought him a semi-automatic pistol as an early Christmas present, according to police.
The teacher let Crumbley stay in class, alerted a counselor but failed to warn the school safety liaison officer, a deputy who works for the Oakland County Sheriff's Department, the lawsuit asserts.
Crumbley met with the counselor and a staff member and he was allowed to return to school the next day.
The unidentified staff member “made a knowing and deliberate decision to not take any meaningful corrective action against Ethan Crumbley, increasing the risk that plaintiffs’ minors would be exposed to Ethan Crumbley’s acts of violence," the suit contends.
