On Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021 fifteen-year-old student Ethan Crumbley opened fire at Oxford High School in Oxford Michigan, fatally striking four teenage students and wounding six students and one teacher.
In this series we will look at the timeline leading up and during the tragic event that took place that day. This review is not to criticize, but to learn from this event. What was seen but overlooked. Who knew the warning signs, but failed to act.
We’ll begin this series by gaining a better understanding of Ethan Crumbley’s character. Ethan has a stepbrother Eli. Eli, who is eighteen years old, and Ethan have the same father, but different mothers. The two boys grew up in Florida but later moved to Michigan with their dad James Crumbley and his second wife, Ethan's mom, Jennifer. Eli described Ethan as a 'happy' and 'average kid' who didn't get into trouble. Eli hinted at some issues with his stepmom, Jennifer, that prompted him to abruptly move back to Florida to live with his biological mother last March. Eli Crumbley has described Ethan as a quiet, but happy boy who stayed out of trouble and never exhibited violent tendencies. Eli Crumbley said he can't understand how his own sibling could suddenly snap, open fire, and kill his classmates. 'The Ethan I knew was just a smart boy who just seemed like an average kid,' he said in an interview. 'There was nothing that ever stood out to me. He'd never get suspended from school, or detention.’ 'When I was living there, nothing seemed off, we’d just walk to the bus stop in the morning, go to school, come home, maybe play some football outside or basketball. We'd just chill, wouldn't do much.' Ethan was on the bowling and soccer teams in middle school, he said, but didn't play team sports in high school. Eli said his brother's biggest hobby was video games, which he'd play at night. His favorite was Minecraft. Eli noted that they had an aunt who died a couple months ago, and that Ethan recently also lost his pet dog, Tank. 'I really don't know what his reasoning was behind this,' Eli said. He was surprised to hear that bullying may have been a factor. Ethan wasn't ever bullied as a child, according to Eli.
Michigan Assistant Prosecutor Marc Keast describes Ethan Crumbley differently. "The evidence will show that Ethan Crumbley was gravely troubled. He was fascinated with firearms, he was violent, he displayed terrifying tendencies and behaviors, and he literally sketched out what he planned to do in his journal and his drawings." "As far back as March of 2021, Ethan would text his mom, Jennifer, that he thought there was a demon, ghost, or someone else inside the home," Keast said it would sometimes take hours for Jennifer to respond. In May, Keast said Ethan was killing animals at their family home and shot videos of his acts. He also said that Ethan researched school shootings so much, he got spam ads regarding his mental health. Keast said Ethan was also fascinated with Nazi propaganda and had even purchased a Nazi coin on Amazon. Keast reported that Ethan told his parents he was hallucinating and demonstrated a passion for only one thing, guns. Keast said Ethan’s parents did not intervene or seek help. In August of 2021, Ethan sent a video to his "only friend", Keast says, that showed him holding, his dad’s, James' gun and saying, "it's time to shoot up the school jk jk jk."
This is the first article in a series. Next, we’ll look at James and Jennifer Crumbley and their relationship with their son Ethan.