Oxford School Shooter Parents Flee: Manhunt Begins For Fugitives

A manhunt is now underway for the parents of the Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley, 15, who has been accused of killing four students and wounding eight in a deadly shooting on November 30, 2021.

Jennifer Crumbley and James Crumbley have reportedly left town after each was charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter at a press conference given by prosecutor Karen McDonald earlier today.

Police are currently searching for the parents, who have not turned themselves in to authorities at the time of this writing.

The Blast previously detailed the series of events that led prosecutors to come to their decision to charge Crumbley’s parents in the fatal shooting.

On November 26, James took his son Black Friday shopping and purchased the 9 mm Sig Sauer semi-automatic handgun with his son present. After the purchase, Ethan posted it on social media with the caption, ”Just got my new beauty today.”

On November 29, Ethan was caught searching for ammunition on his phone during class. Although the school reached out to his parents, they did not reply. Instead, Jennifer reportedly exchanged text messages with her son regarding the incident, including one that read, “LOL I’m not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught.”

On the morning of the shooting, Ethan’s parents were called into school after a teacher saw an “alarming” note on Ethan’s desk that contained a drawing of a gun and a bullet with the words “blood everywhere” written above it. The parents were summoned to school and were informed that they had to send their son to counseling within 48 hours. His parents “resisted” taking Ethan out of school and let him return to class.

His father later called 911 after news of the shooting was made public, stating that the handgun that he kept in his unlocked bedroom drawer was missing and he suspected that his son was the shooter.

According to Oakland County undersheriff Michael McCabe, Jennifer and James Crumbley are being considered fugitives after they failed to show for their arraignment at 4 p.m. today.

The sheriff’s office has released photos of the couple, along with the vehicle they are driving: a black 2021 Kia Seltos SUV with a Michigan license plate number DQG 5203.

However, attorneys for the Crumbleys say that they are not fleeing. Their attorney stated that the couple left town the night of the shooting “for their own safety.” He did not provide a reason stating why they did not show up to their arraignment today.

In a statement by the US Marshals Service, “The U.S. Marshals have adopted the case of the search for James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of the accused Oxford High School (Michigan) shooter. The U.S. Marshals Detroit Fugitive Apprehension team is working in conjunction with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office to bring these individuals to justice.”

To make this matter even more interesting, sheriff Michael Bouchard insists that he did not know that charges were being filed against the Crumbleys until the press conference was held earlier today.

“If we knew, if we knew that there was a high likelihood of charges, especially serious charges, you know, obviously, that's where you begin to differentiate how many resources you devote to it,” he explained.

“Because again, we've got a ton of our folks very much involved in the investigation of the actual shooting. So, we would have had to pull people off of that investigation to begin working on a surveillance which we would have done if there was an indication that serious you know, felonious charges may be forthcoming.”

He added, “We're working on a relationship. The prosecutor is new. And we're doing our best to make sure that these kinds of things and communication happens in a more fluid way. That's the best I can tell you.”