PONTIAC, Mich. — A teenager was sentenced to life in prison Friday for killing four students, wounding more and terrorizing Michigan’s Oxford High School in 2021.
A judge rejected pleas for a shorter sentence and ensured that Ethan Crumbley, 17, will not get an opportunity for parole.
“My actions were what I chose to do. I could not stop myself. ... I am a really bad person. I’ve done terrible things,†Crumbley, who was 15 when he attacked his school in 2021, said before the sentence was announced.
Kylie Ossege describes in detail how she had urged Hana St. Juliana a "thousand times" to keep breathing while they waited for help on a blood-soaked carpet, during her impact statement, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich. Parents of students killed at Michigan's Oxford High School described the anguish of losing their children Friday as a judge considered whether a teenager will serve a life sentence for a mass shooting in 2021. Ethan Crumbley, 17, could be locked up with no chance for parole for killing four fellow students and wounding others.ÌýÂ
He said he was sorry and pledged to change while behind bars.
Life sentences for teenagers are rare in Michigan since the U.S. Supreme Court and the state’s highest court said the violent acts of minors must be viewed differently than the crimes of adults.
Judge Kwame Rowe’s decision followed anguished remarks by families of the deceased and survivors who spoke about how the tragedy has affected them.
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“Your statements,†Rowe said, “do not fall on deaf ears.â€
Crumbley, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, pleaded guilty to 24 charges, including first-degree murder and terrorism.
“We are miserable. We miss Tate,†said Buck Myre, the father of Tate Myre. “Our family has a permanent hole in it that can never be fixed — ever.â€
Nicole Beausoleil recalled seeing the body of her daughter, Madisyn Baldwin, at the medical examiner's office, her hand with blue-painted fingernails sticking out from a covering.
“I looked though the glass. My scream should have shattered it,†Beausoleil said.
Buck Myre, the father of Tate Myre, wipes his eyes as he gives his victim impact statement, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich. Parents of students killed at Michigan's Oxford High School described the anguish of losing their children Friday as a judge considered whether Ethan Crumbley, a teenager, will serve a life sentence for a mass shooting in 2021.Ìý
Jill Soave, the mother of Justin Shilling, told the shooter that he executed a boy who could have helped him navigate awkward teenage years.
“If you were that lonely, that miserable and lost, and you really needed a friend, Justin would have been your friend — if only you had asked,†Soave said.
Crumbley, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, looked down as Soave and others spoke. He also will have an opportunity to address the judge and possibly explain why he believes he should be spared a life sentence.
Kylie Ossege explained how she had urged Hana St. Juliana a “thousand times†to keep breathing while they waited for help on a blood-soaked carpet. Her classmate died.
Ossege, now a college student, was shot and continues to struggle with daily pain from spinal injuries.
“Being able to swing a leg over my horse is my therapy. It is pure joy,†she said of Blaze. “I have not been able to do it for two years.â€
Defense attorney Paulette Michel Loftin has argued Crumbley deserves an opportunity for parole after his “sick brain†is fixed through counseling and rehabilitation.
Ethan Crumbley sits in court listening to victim impact statements, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich. Parents of students killed at Michigan's Oxford High School described the anguish of losing their children Friday as a judge considered whether a teenager will serve a life sentence for a mass shooting in 2021. Crumbley, 17, could be locked up with no chance for parole for killing four fellow students and wounding others.ÌýÂ
But St. Juliana's father scoffed at that possibility.
"There can be no rehabilitation,†Steve St. Juliana told the judge. “There is absolutely nothing the defendant can do to earn my forgiveness. His age plays no part.â€
In a journal, the shooter wrote about his desire to watch students suffer and the likelihood that he would spend his life in prison. He made a video on the eve of the shooting, declaring what he would do the next day.
More than 20 people gave victim-impact statements by early Friday afternoon. Some wore shirts honoring the fallen students. The judge briefly allowed a framed photo of Myre to be placed near him.
Speakers recalled the day and its aftermath in details large and small. One woman said she's still anxious simply pulling into Meijer, a big-box store where families reunited immediately after the shooting.
Linda Watson said her son, Aiden, who was shot in the leg, still doesn't go to school for a full day. She recalled the family staying in a hotel because a nail gun being used in her neighborhood sounded like a real gun to him.
“Aiden will be dealing with this for the rest of his life. ... This shooter — this monster — should have to feel everything hard and painful for the rest of his life," Watson said.
Like their son, Jennifer and James Crumbley are locked up in the county jail. They are awaiting trial on involuntary manslaughter charges, accused of making a gun accessible at home and neglecting the shooter's mental health.
Crumbley and his parents met with school staff on the day of the shooting after a teacher noticed violent drawings. But no one checked his backpack for a gun and he was allowed to stay.
The shooting happened in Oxford Township, about 40 miles north of Detroit. Besides the four students who were killed, six more students and a teacher also were wounded.
The Oxford school district hired an outside group to conduct an independent investigation. A report released in October said “missteps at each level†— school board, administrators, staff — contributed to the tragedy.
Crumbley's behavior in class, including looking at a shooting video and gun ammunition on his phone, should have identified him as a “potential threat of violence,†the report said.
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Yes, it's getting worse: New data shows mass shootings are more frequent
Yes, it's getting worse: New data shows mass shootings are more frequent
was produced by , a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that seeks to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about the U.S. criminal justice system, and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media.
On Oct. 25, 2023, a gunman opened fire in Lewiston, Maine, ultimately killing 18 people and injuring 13 more at a bowling alley and a nearby bar. He was after a two-day manhunt. Maine, which has one of the lowest homicide rates in the nation, remains in shock.Ìý
If it feels like U.S. mass shootings have become more frequent, that intuition remains correct, according to data analysis by .Ìý
Under even one of the most conservative definitions of "mass shootings," in which a gunman slaughters four or more strangers in a public place, the number of these crimes has indeed been climbing in the last few years — and they have higher death tolls, as well.
Mass shootings account for just a fraction of the daily toll of firearm deaths in the U.S., where every day in acts of gun violence in 2022.
Our analysis is based on data through 2022 from The Violence Project, a nonprofit research group that uses a narrow definition of mass shootings adopted from the Congressional Research Service, which advises federal lawmakers.
Mass shootings have been on the rise steadily for the past 40 years
Thirty-three of these massacres occurred from 2018 through 2022, compared with 25 from 2013 through 2017, according to The Violence Project data. We compared five-year periods, rather than annual data, so we could more clearly see trends over time. A focus on yearly data would be skewed by 2020, when there were two mass shooting incidents, which researchers attribute to the COVID-19 lockdown.
Still, the latest five-year period saw more attacks than any other comparable timespan dating back to 1966 — an average of about 6.6 mass shootings per year since 2018.
The Violence Project as single incidents in which four or more people are killed (not including the shooter), in public locations, such as schools, stores, or workplaces. It excludes murders that occur as a result of other crimes, such as domestic violence, robbery and gang violence.
At least seven mass shootings so far in 2023 fit this definition:
- , California: 11 dead, 9 injured.
- , California: 7 dead, 1 injured.
- , Tennessee: 6 dead.
- , Kentucky: 5 dead, 8 injured.
- , Texas: 8 dead, 7 injured.
- , Pennsylvania: 5 dead, 2 injured.
- , Maine: 18 dead, 13 injured.
This means 2023 is on par with the number of mass shootings in recent years. The Violence Project counted eight mass shootings in 2021, and seven in 2022.Ìý
While shooting incidents show a gradual upward trend, the number of those killed is rising at an alarming rate
As mass shootings in the U.S. reached a record high, so did the number of deaths and injuries. From 2018 to 2022, perpetrators killed 257 people — close to the 266 fatalities in the five-year period that ended in 2017, and significantly more than any previous period.
The rise in deaths and injuries from 2013 through 2017 was mostly due to the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. At a Las Vegas music festival in 2017, a gunman with multiple assault weapons killed at least 60 people. Over 850 people were injured, including scores hurt in a stampede, according to The Violence Project.Ìý
Injuries have likewise risen significantly; one contributing factor: assault weapons
Our analysis shows that in the past five years, assault-style weapons have been used in half of mass shootings. Prior to 2013, they were used in one-third or fewer of all mass shootings.
There is no national, legal definition of a "mass shooting." Several organizations track this form of gun violence, but use different yardsticks.
In 2024, The Marshall Project will update the charts included in this article with full data from 2023. For more on mass shootings and how they are defined, is available.Ìý
