Jennifer Crumbley, mother of Ethan, the shooter at Oxford, Michigan High School (Getty and French)

A jury in the Oakland County District Court in the United States of America convicted a mother from Michigan of manslaughter. For failing to prevent her son from carrying out a mass shooting incident at a school.

According to what the British newspaper The Guardian reported on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, Jennifer Crombley (45 years old) is the first American to be convicted of manslaughter in a mass shooting incident carried out by her son Ethan, while her husband, James Crombley, faces a separate trial on the same charges.

The prosecution accused the mother of negligence in allowing her son, who is now 17 years old, to possess a weapon, and of ignoring warning signs. The court charged her with 4 counts of manslaughter, each of which carries a penalty of up to 15 years.

Ethan Crumbley is serving a life sentence for killing 4 of his colleagues and wounding 7 other people, in a shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan on November 30, 2021.

The parents were supposed to be tried together, but they sought separate trials in November 2023, and his father, James Crombley, is scheduled to stand trial next March.

The central question at trial was whether the mother could have anticipated and prevented the fatal crime, as Crombley and her husband, James, had purchased the gun their son used just days before the shooting.

At her trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Ethan had mental health problems and complained of hallucinations, but his parents did not provide him with treatment. Prosecutors pointed to a note found in their son's bag in which he wrote that his parents ignored his pleas for help.

Prosecutors showed messages between Ms. Crombley and a man with whom she was in a relationship, in which she said - before attending a school assembly on the day of the shooting - that she was afraid her son would do “something stupid.”

During her trial, Crombley sought to blame her husband for buying their son the gun, telling jurors that her husband had taken their son to a gun store the day after Thanksgiving to buy him a gun as a gift.

It is reported that on the morning of the shooting, the parents interrupted a meeting with the school administration; Because of a disturbing drawing their son had drawn, they went to work without taking the then 15-year-old home.

School officials then returned him to class without examining his bag, which contained a gun, and only hours later the child committed his crime.

Could the Crombley family be the beginning?

Some experts have indicated that the cases against the Crombleys could lead to more charges against parents of minors who commit mass shootings.

Stephen Morse, a professor of law and psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, said he disagreed with the ruling, arguing that since Ethan Crumpley pleaded guilty, he was solely responsible for the shooting. "I realize she wasn't necessarily the best mother in the world, but this is not a crime," he said. ".

Morse said he believes the decision could set a bad precedent, making the courts look for a “scapegoat” in similar situations, while others say this case was exceptional, ruling out that it would have broader repercussions.

For his part, Frank Vandervoort, a clinical professor of law at the University of Michigan, said, “I am not afraid that this will open the door wide for parents who are accused in ordinary cases, if there is such a thing. I think this case is very unique and somewhat different.”

The families of the victims expressed their frustration; Because school officials did not face the same legal consequences as the parents of the murdered child, asking, "Why doesn't the system allow the people to decide when it comes to failing at school? Is our government subject to a different set of rules?"

An independent investigation published last year acknowledged multiple failures in the school system, including allowing Ethan to return to class without checking his backpack, prompting the district's education department to pledge to review and improve its practices and policies in response to the investigation.

An ongoing debate about firearms possession

Shooting incidents in the United States are considered a chronic scourge, and every time an incident of this kind occurs, the country witnesses a renewed discussion about the spread of firearms, but without any progress being made in this regard, as many Americans refuse to give up their constitutional right to possess firearms. .

Schools in the United States are witnessing many shooting incidents, which have caused dozens of deaths, the most recent of which happened on March 27, 2023, when 6 people were killed, including 3 children and 3 adults, in a private Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee, by... Young woman.

On February 14, 2023, at least 3 people were killed and 5 others were injured after a gunman opened fire at Michigan State University.

On January 23, 2023, more than 10 people were killed, and others were injured in separate shooting incidents that occurred in 3 American states, according to police and local sources.

On January 6, 2023, the US police announced that a 6-year-old boy shot a teacher at an elementary school in Newport News, Virginia.

At the time, authorities explained that all schools were equipped with metal detectors, but they were not activated at Rechnick Elementary School on the day of the crime.

On December 14, 2022, an accident occurred inside an elementary school in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, resulting in 27 deaths, including 20 children.

On May 24, 2022, 19 children and a teacher were killed by an 18-year-old young man who opened fire in an elementary school in Texas before the police shot him dead.

Source: Al Jazeera + British press