HMMMmmm...
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.
A 15 year old relentlessly bullied at school, perhaps physically knocked around
I’m 76. When I was in second and third grade my brother (fifth grader) was taking shooting class and we brought his 22 bold action Remington on the school bus on shooting days. I carried the box of bullets for him.
Great post!
Cal Thomas: 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?
“Isn’t the color working on your TV”
What’s that supposed to mean?
My parents bought me a .22 rifle when I was 13.
Young people seem to bring backpacks everywhere.
Okay, Boomer.
Whatever, Backpack.
“You are correct, 15 year olds are not children, but they are not adults until they become 18.”
A more or less .modern determination.
Why does Jewish custom determine that 13 is the age of majority?
Consider Joseph Plum Martin who joined the Connecticut Militia in 1776 at 16 years old. He fought with the militia and then the continental army until he mustered out in 1783 at the age of 23.
He left behind a diary that scholars have called a treasure trove of information on the average soldier of the time.
Or Sybil Ludington who made an all-night horseback ride to alert militia forces in the neighboring towns of what is today’s Putnam County, New York of the burning of Danbury, Connecticut by British forces.
Or the multitude of “Praire Orphans” who lost their parents during the westward expansion. Many under the age of 13 found ways of making a living without turning to crime.
Or the many young men who lied about their ages to enter military service, some as young as 12, during our country’s various wars.
Treat them like children and they will act like children. Treat them like adults with adult responsibilities and watch them shatter your expectations.
Thank you.
Just reporting what I know.
“Honestly what kind of parents would buy their 15 year old child a gun? “
A normal 15 year old? Many. Many outside of urban areas anyway.
Especially something other than a handgun.
And so, why is this even a 'thing?'
How many murderers, arsonists, and con men routinely write the Biden Administration and thank them for a job well done?
One letter in a million, Cal, and this is meant to relay what to the public?
You, Cal Thomas, are an ass.
I got my first gun, a 410 shotgun, at 10 years old.
All of the good ones who teach them the value of freedom from tyranny. To be a responsible citizen. The reality that choices have consequences
Keep on truckin’!
RE: “How did you know he voted against Donald Trump,”
First: I can read.
Second: I have been reading Cal Thomas for damn neat 30 year. Now my turn, Do you actually lust for Ann Coulter?
I had access to one that I could use under supervision in a controlled environment also. I wasn’t able to just freely take it and run amok however.
Still, anyone here or elsewhere claiming they were given a gun at some tender age of say 10 or 12, stating it was a long gun and then equating it to being given a handgun at the same age is being at least intellectually dishonest.
That was not what I had in mind, and I have never met Dick Cheney.
But if his daughter is an indicator you may be correct.
I doubt there are many of their neighbors in Wyoming who I would question about owning firearms.
Hunting accidents do happen. I’ve never witnessed one, but know of at least 2, close calls with people I knew.
The 2nd amendment must assume that those who own a rifle are competent. It is NOT about hunting at all. Although those who hunted at the time of the American revolution, were a significant part of the forces who won that struggle.
And it reminds me of Charlton Heston’s, Cold Dead Hands speech. He specifically mentions “the farmer’s”.
Charlton Heston; “From My Cold Dead Hands”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOJQFNOQqCY
Text:
Every time out country stands in the path of Danger an instinct seems to summons her finest first. Those who truly understand it.
When freedom shivers in the path of true peril it is always the patriots who first hear the call.
When loss of liberty is looming as it is now, the siren sounds first in the hearts of freedoms vanguard the smoke in the air of our Concord Bridges and Pearl Harbors is always smelled first by the farmers.
Who come from their simple homes to find the fire and fight, because they know that sacred stuff resides in that wooden stock and blued steel. Something that gives the most common man the most uncommon of freedoms. When ordinary hands can possess such an extraordinary instrument that symbolizes the full measure of human dignity and liberty.
That is why those 5 words issue an irresistible call with all and we must. So as we set out this year to defeat the divisive forces that would take freedom away, I want to say those fighting words, for everyone within the sound of my voice, to hear and to head, and especially for you Mr. Gore “From my Cold Dead Hands”.
(note, searching for that video or it’s text today give a collection of anti 2nd amendment crap that seals over what you search for in noise. This is what our enemies in the search engine world have done to hide the truth and single us out for punishment. This is against every fiber of my existence and reminds me what they want to do to us. I would not have been able to find the text of the speech, except I had it in my digital scratch pad.)
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