OXFORD, Mich. – The Oakland County sheriff said cameras captured video of a sophomore at Oxford High School leaving a bathroom with a gun and firing shots while walking up and down hallways.
UPDATE: 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley charged as adult in Oxford High School shooting
“Horrific,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. “I mean, it’s gut-wrenching. Even as a police officer, where you see terrible, terrible things, this is horrific and cold-hearted. Absolutely brutal and cold-hearted.”
Four students were killed in the shooting. Hana St. Juliana, 14, Tate Myre, 16, and Madisyn Baldwin, 17, died from gunshot wounds Tuesday. Justin Shilling, 17, died Wednesday at McLaren Oakland Hospital.
Seven additional people were hurt, Bouchard said.
- A 17-year-old girl remains in critical condition with a gunshot wound to her chest. She is at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland in Pontiac.
- A 14-year-old girl has improved from critical condition to stable with a gunshot wound to the left chest and neck. She is at Hurley Medical Center in Flint.
- A 17-year-old girl is stable with a gunshot wound to the neck at McLaren Oakland Hospital in Pontiac.
- A 14-year-old boy was discharged Wednesday afternoon from McLaren Oakland Hospital in Pontiac.
- A 15-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to his left leg was discharged Tuesday.
- A 17-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to his hip was discharged Tuesday.
- The 47-year-old teacher with a gunshot wound to her left shoulder was discharged Tuesday from McLaren Lapeer Hospital.
Surveillance video from inside school
Bouchard said Ethan Crumbley, 15, was at school that day. Surveillance cameras showed him coming out of a bathroom with what police are calling a 9 mm Sig Sauer SP2022 pistol.
Crumbley started firing shots while in a hallway, at close range to his victims, according to authorities.
“He was working his way up and down hallways,” Bouchard said.
Preliminary investigation found that all the shots were fired from the hallway, he said.
“In the hallway, and sometimes into classrooms,” Bouchard said.
Based on surveillance video, Bouchard doesn’t believe certain students were targeted, but that the victims were shot at random.
“There is nothing that would justify this,” Bouchard said. “So the ‘why?’ is more, I think, us grasping at, ‘How could somebody do this?’ versus justification for doing it. It’s a big difference. We can’t wrap our head around the incredible, cold-blooded murder of kids, and so we look for a ‘why?’ There is no credible, reasonable, ‘why?’ This was an evil act, and it appears to be random.”
Bouchard said Crumbley pulled on doors and tried to breach classrooms while other students were sheltering inside. He did this while walking up and down more than one hallway, according to the sheriff.
“We know by witnesses he was tugging on doors and we know from physical evidence that he shot through doors,” Bouchard said.
Police said they found significantly more than 12 shell casings. A final number will be revealed Wednesday afternoon.
Investigation, charges
Crumbley is charged with one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder and 12 counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
He is being charged as an adult, authorities said.
No threats reported to police
“We still keep hearing that people knew there were some issues with (the suspected shooter),” Bouchard said. “None of them came to us. None of them were reported to us.”
He said some reports of potential warning signs had nothing to do with Tuesday’s shooting. Some were investigated earlier in the month and turned out to be linked to other schools or situations.
Bouchard said even in the last week, deputies have investigated three unrelated potential threats to schools in Oakland County and deemed them all non-credible.
“So far we don’t have anything that was a post or social media that anybody brought to the attention of anybody, that we’re aware of,” Bouchard said. “But we’re looking.”
He said officials never received a call about a gun prior to calls about shots being fired.
“The lockdown, as I understand it, began after the shooting started,” Bouchard said.
Bouchard said Crumbley still is not cooperating with police. He said the boy’s parents aren’t talking, either, and have hired a lawyer.
You can watch Bouchard’s full update in the video below.
