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The Signs Weren't Missed, They Were Ignored
Townhall.com ^ | December 4, 2021 | Cal Thomas

Posted on 12/04/2021 5:22:08 AM PST by Kaslin

As has been the case with so many other school shootings over several years, last week's murder spree at Oakland High School in suburban Detroit might have been avoided if actions had been taken in the face of several obvious warning signs.

Ethan Crumbley, 15, is charged with murdering four of his fellow students and wounding with intent to kill seven others. He has also been charged with terrorism.

There were a series of signs leading up to this tragedy -- as there usually are -- that should have alerted people that Crumbley was a serious threat.

He had displayed disciplinary problems for some time. On the day of the shooting, he was summoned to the school office after misbehaving. His parents were also called in, an indication that officials were taking this latest incident more seriously than previous ones.

Oakland prosecutor Karen McDonald told CNN there is a "strong possibility" Crumbley had the gun used in the killings in his backpack when he met with school officials and his parents. Did no one think it unusual, if not suspicious, that Crumbley would bring the backpack with him, instead of leaving it in his locker or the classroom? Why didn't someone ask him to open the backpack and check its contents?

Crumbley's parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, have been charged with four counts each of homicide and involuntary manslaughter. James Crumbley reportedly bought the gun Ethan is charged with using in the murders and gave it to his son. Why would a father do that and why was the weapon not properly secured so it could not be taken anywhere without parental notice, permission and supervision, especially to school? Did Ethan ask his father to purchase the gun for him? What reason did he give? Did James Crumbley ask him? Why would a father give a gun to a son with a record of disciplinary problems?

In a bizarre twist, the Daily Mail reported Jennifer Crumbley wrote then president-elect Donald Trump in November 2016, thanking him for his support of the right to bear arms and describing her son's struggles in school. She added that as a realtor she is grateful for the right to carry a gun because it "(allows) me to be protected if I show a home to someone with bad intentions."

In a search of Ethan Crumbley's cellphone, police found detailed descriptions of his wish to kill classmates. They say he also had a journal and in at least one social media post expressed elation that he had access to a handgun purchased by his father. Did no one else -- classmates, administrators or parents -- see or know about any of this? If they did, why was it not reported to authorities? How many times must we hear "if you see something, say something" before someone says something? Why must we always wonder after the fact why no one spoke up?

At his arraignment, Crumbley's lawyer entered a not guilty plea. Ethan is said not to be talking to investigators.

It is a sad commentary on the times in which we live that police officers are increasingly present outside and inside some schools and even churches. Will metal detectors be next? No parent should have to worry that sending their child off to school in the morning might be the last time they see them alive.

What happened at Oxford High School was pure evil, but evil can be resisted and overcome if people are pro-active in their thinking. It's sad to think in these terms, but potentially much sadder and intolerable if we don't.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; US: Michigan
KEYWORDS: banglist; bidenvoters; education; ethancrumbley; jamescrumbley; jennifercrumbley; michigan; schoolshooting
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Honestly what kind of parents would buy their 15 year old child a gun?
1 posted on 12/04/2021 5:22:08 AM PST by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

My Dad bought me my first gun for my 13th birthday. Never use it to kill anyone. The issue with this family lies elsewhere.


2 posted on 12/04/2021 5:26:59 AM PST by hinckley buzzard ( Resist the narrative.)
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To: Kaslin

I agree unless the family had a history of hunting and bought him gun for hunting and supervised him and was with him when they went hunting..locking up guns at other times.


3 posted on 12/04/2021 5:29:08 AM PST by Recovering Ex-hippie (The 2020 election Trump victory determines the fate f America and Freedom.)
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To: Kaslin

My father bought me my first shotgun when I was 12. He also taught me gun safety and to hunt.

I still have that shotgun.

I’ve never shot anyone.

I am not making excuses for the parents of this child. But age is not the touchstone of who can safely handle a weapon. (any type)

I know a lot of adults who have absolutely no business with a firearm.


4 posted on 12/04/2021 5:30:16 AM PST by Texas Fossil ((Texas is not where you were born, but a Free State of Heart, Mind & Attitude!))
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To: Kaslin

I thought every school had a policeman and metal detectors everyone had to pass trough. How’d he get past those?


5 posted on 12/04/2021 5:33:39 AM PST by BradyLS (DO NOT FEED THE BEARS!)
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To: Kaslin
I could not help but notice that Old Never Trumper Cal just had to get a dig in to President Trump. <>
6 posted on 12/04/2021 5:34:13 AM PST by Tupelo
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To: Kaslin
Honestly what kind of parents would buy their 15 year old child a gun?

I think it depends on the maturity and temperament of the child--in this case you'd have to be a pathetic excuse for a parent (obvious now) to buy this child a gun.

7 posted on 12/04/2021 5:35:56 AM PST by DaBroasta
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To: Kaslin

Maybe the reason folks at school did not say anything is the somewhat long history of liberal school systems over-reacting to an infantile degree to ANY child interested in firearms.

EXAMPLE; 7 year olds being expelled and in some cases arrested for drawing pictures of guns.

My experience of the last 20 years tells me that we know nothing about this case and that all the media is wrong.

I’ll wait.


8 posted on 12/04/2021 5:37:35 AM PST by M.K. Borders (All I require of my government is the liberty my Grandfathers were born to.)
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To: Kaslin

My father gave me a shotgun for my 11th birthday. We live in rural Oklahoma and he was a WWII vet. He never owned a rifle after the war but was an avid hunter.
We were taught strict gun safety rules down to even the proper way to cross a fence.
If someone was unsafe when he took them hunting with us, like pointing the gun at us, he never took them again.


9 posted on 12/04/2021 5:38:14 AM PST by arkfreepdom
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To: Kaslin

I remember being in high school and shotguns in the rack of a pickup’s back window was a common sight. We never did have any school shootings but your usual amount of boys getting into fights.


10 posted on 12/04/2021 5:39:59 AM PST by liberalh8ter (The only difference between flash mob 'urban yutes' and U.S. politicians is the hoodies.)
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To: Kaslin
“Why didn't someone ask him to open the backpack and check its contents?”

Major question. I think the school has some culpability here in addition to the kid and quite possibly his parents. I the school was so concerned about the kids mental state that they wanted the parents to take him home immediately, why wouldn’t they at the very least search his backpack before sending him back to class?

11 posted on 12/04/2021 5:40:41 AM PST by circlecity
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To: Texas Fossil

Consider Alec Baldwin.
He’s an “adult”
However it is apparent he never learned any gun safety.


12 posted on 12/04/2021 5:42:39 AM PST by Leep (Save America. Lock down pres. Brandon!)
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To: Kaslin

“Honestly what kind of parents would buy their 15 year old child a gun?”

Millions. The real question is why is this one getting 24 hour coverage, and this one was swept into the memory hole immediately?

https://nypost.com/2021/10/07/suspected-texas-high-school-shooter-released-from-jail/


13 posted on 12/04/2021 5:43:33 AM PST by suthener ( )
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To: Kaslin

“Did no one think it unusual, if not suspicious, that Crumbley would bring the backpack with him, instead of leaving it in his locker or the classroom?”

Don’t know if it’s true but I recall hearing the school lockers were not in use because of covid. I just assumed it was for social distancing, but who knows.

Freegards


14 posted on 12/04/2021 5:45:24 AM PST by Ransomed
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To: Texas Fossil

Got my 22 for xmas when I was 12. I started shooting with dad long before. Restored an old Italian Carcano rifle around the same time.

Remember being dropped off at my grandfather’s to go plinking behind his house. Fired thousands of rounds.


15 posted on 12/04/2021 5:48:52 AM PST by dgbrown
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To: Kaslin

Most likely oppositional defiant disorder. Psycho talk for not having a conscience. People like this do not belong in the public sn school system. They are ticking time bombs.


16 posted on 12/04/2021 5:50:57 AM PST by gov_bean_ counter (Eccl10:2 - The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.)
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To: Kaslin

First of all, a 15 year old is not a child. One of my uncles were taken out of school at the age of 9 to help support the family. Another was taken out of school at age 13 to do a man’s work. My stepfather left school at the age of 10 to work in the cotton mill.
I was taken out of school at 15 to do a man’s work. If a person is ever to learn right from wrong, they have learned it by then.

Second, I got my first shotgun at age 12. It was a hand me down 20 gauge, but a nice hunting gun.
I got a nice 22 rifle for Christmas at age 13.
I’ve never mishandled a firearm or shot anyone.
Around here it’s a young man’s rite of passage to get his first shotgun or rifle at 13-14 years old. And no one gets one until daddy trusts them out of sight with one.


17 posted on 12/04/2021 5:51:42 AM PST by oldvirginian (I’m getting tired of being part of a major historical event.)
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To: Kaslin

My dad bought me my first shotgun when I was nine.
It still hasn’t shot up a school.


18 posted on 12/04/2021 5:53:19 AM PST by skimbell
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To: Kaslin

In my family we were given our first firearm at 8 or 9. None of us have shot anyone.


19 posted on 12/04/2021 5:53:51 AM PST by Tammy8 ( )
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To: liberalh8ter

And you left the windows down and/or the truck was unlocked and it was still there at the end of school.


20 posted on 12/04/2021 5:54:21 AM PST by bgill (Which came first, the vax or the virus?)
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