For the Defense - Vol. 9, Issue 3 - 29

I
n recent months, several news stories have made national
headlines relating to gun violence in schools. Sadly, this type of
headline is nothing new for the American public. Probably most
recognizable are the Columbine shooting in April of 1999 and the
Sandy Hook shooting in December of 2012. However, two more
recent incidents are noteworthy for the fact that the parent(s) of
the child responsible for the shootings were held legally liable for
their child's actions in relation to the firearm in question.
Recent Nationwide Background
Michigan: The Crumbleys
On November 30, 2021, then fifteen-year-old Ethan Crumbley
walked into Oxford High School in southeastern Michigan as he
had every other day up to that point. Later that day however, he
went into the bathroom, removed a 9mm Sig Saur handgun and
50 rounds of 9mm ammunition from his backpack and opened
fire on his classmates, killing four and wounding six other students
and one teacher. Prior to the incident, Crumbley's mother Jennifer
referred to the weapon as a " Christmas present " for their son on
social media. However, it was later revealed under questioning
that Crumbley's own money was used to purchase the weapon,
which his father James bought for him on November 26, only
four days prior to the shooting.1
A criminal complaint was filed against Crumbley on
December 1, 2021, charging him as an adult with twenty-four
separate counts including Terrorism Resulting in Death and
First-Degree Murder.2
On Monday, October 24, 2022, nearly a
year after the incident, Crumbley pled guilty to all twenty-four
charges brought against him, withdrawing his intent to pursue an
insanity defense. On December 8, 2023, Crumbley was sentenced
to life in prison without the opportunity for parole, with the
court noting that the shooting was planned well in advance and
that missteps were made at each level of Crumbley's recent life,
contributing to the tragedy at Oxford High School.3
Crumbley's parents, Jennifer and James, were arrested and
charged on December 3, 2021, with four counts of involuntary
manslaughter (one count for each of the students who were
killed by their son), accused of readily making firearms available
to Crumbley in their family home and neglecting to aid their son's
ailing mental health.4
It was noted that Crumbley had no prior disciplinary issues at
the school; however, on November 29, a teacher allegedly saw
Crumbley looking up firearm ammunition on his cell phone
during class. Later that day, after having Crumbley meet with
school counselors, the school contacted his mother Jennifer
about the incident, who did not address it with either the school
or her son. Rather she simply responded to Crumbley via text
message: " Lol. I'm not mad at you. You have to learn not to get
caught. " 5
It was further alleged by prosecutors that Crumbley was
fascinated with Nazi propaganda, going so far as to keep a
Nazi coin on display in his bedroom at his parents' home and
sketching Nazi symbolism in a family notebook used for making
grocery lists. According to prosecutors, earlier in 2021, Crumbley
had texted his mother that " there was a demon or a ghost or
someone else inside the home " . Prosecutors stated that these
" weren't one-time messages. He would repeatedly text what
he was perceiving to his mother, who sometimes would not
respond for hours. " 8
Under Michigan law, the involuntary manslaughter charge
filed against Crumbley's parents could be pursued if authorities
believed someone contributed to a situation where there was
a high risk of harm or death.9
As such, Michigan prosecutors
claimed that Jennifer and James Crumbley were criminally liable
for their son's actions on November 30 due to their failure to
secure the newly-purchased firearm in question, making it
readily accessible to their minor son, their alleged failure to aid
their son's declining mental health and failure to intervene on
the day of the shooting despite being presented with the above
facts by the school.
In a 2019 assessment, the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security found that in 76% of school attacks where firearms
were used, the weapons in question came from the home of
a parent or close relative. In about half of those incidents, the
firearms were found to be easily accessible in the home.10
Jennifer and James Crumbley underwent separate trials.
Both were found guilty on all four counts of involuntary
manslaughter.11
The presiding judge stated that both parents had
Then, earlier in the day of November 30 (the date of
the shooting), another teacher at Oxford High School discovered
a drawing Crumbley had made depicting a gun pointing at the
phrase: " The thoughts won't stop. Help me. " , along with an
image of a bullet with the caption: " Blood everywhere " above
a drawing depicting a person who had been shot twice and was
actively bleeding. Further, the same note included the words " my
life is useless " and " the world is dead. " Immediately following
this discovery, Crumbley's parents were brought to the school for a
meeting with the superintendent, wherein the school counselors
allegedly disclosed that they did not feel that Crumbley would
ignored " things that would make a reasonable person feel the
hair on the back of their neck stand up... Opportunity knocked
over and over again, louder and louder, and was ignored. No
one answered. " During the trials, the judge permitted the jury
to hear excerpts from Ethan's private journal wherein he stated
that " I have zero help for my mental problems and it's causing
me to shoot up the... school. I want help but my parents don't
listen to me so I can't get any help. " As a result of the guilty
verdicts in both cases, Jennifer and James Crumbley were each
sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in prison on April 9, 2024.12
Virginia: The Taylors
On Friday, January 6, 2023, the then six-year-old son of
Deja Taylor walked into his first-grade classroom at Richneck
Elementary School in Newport News, Virgina, and shot his
25-year-old teacher Abby Zwerner with a 9mm handgun owned
by his mother and kept in the family home.13
Vol. 9, Issue 3 l For The Defense 29
harm others based on their discussions with him that morning.
Crumbley's parents agreed with these conclusions and refused
the school's request to remove him from school that day, instead
promising to have him see a professional counselor within the
next 48 hours.6
Little more than two hours after the school meeting, Ethan
went on to commit the shooting, the story of which was
broadcast to the community almost immediately. Within
minutes of learning of the shooting, Crumbley's father James
called 911 to report that the 9mm Sig Saur handgun was missing
from the family home, where it was kept unlocked in a drawer
in the parents' bedroom.7
For the Defense - Vol. 9, Issue 3

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