This Thursday, a Michigan jury returned a guilty verdict against James Crumbley on four counts of involuntary manslaughter, related to the shooting carried out by his son, Ethan Crumbley, at Oxford High School in November 2021.
The jury issued its decision after hearing from 15 witnesses of the tragic shooting, which resulted in the deaths of four students and left seven other people injured.
Prosecutors argued that James Crumbley was able to prevent the shooting on the morning of Nov. 30, 2021, when he arrived at school to meet with school counselors after Ethan was caught scribbling disturbing notes in class with phrases like “blood everywhere” and “My life is useless.” It was also noted that James bought Ethan a Sig Sauer 9mm pistol as a gift the day after Thanksgiving, at a time when his son was emotionally affected by his best friend's move.
"These were egregious facts in this case. These parents could have prevented this tragedy. It was foreseeable," Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said after the verdict.
James Crumbley, 47, now faces a sentence of up to 15 years in prison for the four counts of involuntary manslaughter, representing the four students killed by his son.
The case has been closely watched across the country and has sparked debate about parental responsibility in school shootings and safe gun storage.
"This is a historic case because the prosecutors are seeking to hold a parent responsible for the actions of a child (…) the violent actions that led to the death of other children. And so this is a test case to see the limits of parents' responsibility for the actions of their children who are of a high school age,” criminal defense attorney Keith Johnson explained to Fox News Digital.
James Crumbley, along with Jennifer Crumbley, became the first parents in American history to stand trial for a mass shooting caused by their child at a school.
It's important to remember that Ethan's mother, Jennifer, was also found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter after prosecutors argued that she could have prevented the shooting if she had paid attention to her son Ethan's warning signs.
Ethan Crumbley, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, pleaded guilty to murder and terrorism last year and is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
