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Michigan shooter's parents in court (archive photo)

Photo: Paul Sancya / AP

According to US media reports, it is the first time in the United States that a parent has been held responsible for the crime of their own child: A court in Pontiac in Oakland County in the US state of Michigan convicted a 45-year-old woman of negligent homicide on Tuesday in four cases. This was reported by CNN and the New York Times, among others.

The son, who was 15 at the time of the crime, killed four students and injured seven other people at Oxford High School in November 2021. He was sentenced to life in prison in December 2023.

Serious allegations were made against the teenager's parents after the crime because they had bought the murder weapon and given their underage son access to it. They are also said to have ignored warnings from the boy's school environment.

According to the court, the murder weapon was a gift from the parents to their underage son. The mother now faces up to 15 years in prison - the sentence is due to be announced in April.

The 45-year-old had pleaded “not guilty” in the proceedings. Her husband is scheduled to appear in court in March. The son had pleaded guilty to all 24 charges. He did not testify in his mother's trial.

The case has once again brought into focus the question of parents' responsibility for their children's actions. It is rare for parents to be charged and convicted of such acts of violence by minors in schools.

Jurors deliberated for a long time on the verdict

Although parents have sometimes been held responsible for negligent behavior in the past, this case appears to be the first time a parent of an underage shooter has been found guilty of negligent homicide. The twelve-member jury reportedly deliberated on its verdict for more than ten hours.

Deadly shootings at schools and universities continue to occur in the United States. Gun laws in the USA vary by state, but firearms such as pistols and assault rifles are usually relatively easy to obtain. Stricter gun laws usually fail because of Republicans in Congress and the powerful gun lobby. US President Joe Biden has promised measures to curb gun violence, but so far without concrete results.

ala/dpa