Florida leaders react to jury recommending life in prison for Parkland school shooter
Florida leaders expressed a mixture of emotions Thursday after a jury rejected the death penalty and recommended instead a life sentence without parole for Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz for killing 17 people in 2018.
Florida judge won’t delay sentencing for Parkland school shooter
Cruz previously plead guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 shootings. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool) (Amy Beth Bennett)FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Florida judge has refused to delay the sentencing trial of Nikolas Cruz in the 2018 shooting at a high school where 17 people were killed. Read: City of Orlando releases apology after controversial Fourth of July statementCruz, 23, pleaded guilty in October to murdering 17 people at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018. Read: Texas school shooting: Chief Pete Arredondo resigns from Uvalde City CouncilThe sentencing trial is expected to last about four months. Read: Girl seriously injured in shark attack on Florida beachThe Associated Press contributed to this article.
wftv.comSchool shooting suspect may testify at parents' trial
(Jose Juarez/Detroit News via AP) (Jose Juarez)Lawyers representing the parents of a Michigan teenager charged in a high school shooting that left four of his fellow students dead said Monday that they plan to call him to testify at the couple's trial. Defense attorney Shannon Smith told Oakland County Circuit Judge Cheryl Matthews that Ethan Crumbley's testimony would be related to "extraneous matters" and not the Nov. 30 shooting at Oxford High School. “We need him as a witness in this trial," said Smith, who represents Jennifer Crumbley. Matthews sided with the couple's arguments that some evidence, such as the condition of their home, would not be admitted at trial. Seven others, including a teacher, also were wounded during the shooting about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Detroit.
wftv.comOxford shooting suspect could be witness in parents' trial
School Shooting-Michigan Ethan Crumbley attends a hearing at Oakland County circuit court in Pontiac, Mich., on Feb. 22, 2022. Lawyers for Crumbley said a September trial date wouldn't leave enough time to go through evidence and prepare. Defense attorney Shannon Smith told Oakland County Circuit Judge Cheryl Matthews that Ethan Crumbley's testimony would be related to "extraneous matters" and not the Nov. 30 shooting. “We need him as a witness in this trial," said Smith, who represents Jennifer Crumbley. Matthews sided with the couple's arguments that some evidence, such as the condition of their home, would not be admitted at trial.
wftv.comStudents sue for review, changes after Oxford High shooting
School Shooting Michigan FILE - Oxford High School student return to school after they walked out of classes on May 26, 2022, in Oxford, Mich., to show their support for the Uvalde, Texas community and the recent mass shooting that occurred at an elementary school. The federal lawsuit being filed Friday names the Oxford Community School District, its former superintendent and other officials. Several told reporters that the Oxford School Board has repeatedly declined a review by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office. “My fear, now, is they will use attorney-client privilege to withhold pertinent information for the review," said April Ventline, whose son attends Oxford High. "I don’t have faith or trust we will get a clear and honest review.”___For more of the AP's coverage of the Michigan school shooting: https://apnews.com/hub/oxford-high-school-shootingCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.
wftv.comUvalde school police chief faulted in shooting response
School Shooting Texas Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw speaks during a press conference held outside Robb Elementary School on Friday, May 27, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. “The tactical, conceptual mindset is definitely there in Texas,” said Joe McKenna, deputy superintendent for the Comal school district in Texas and a former assistant director at the state's school safety center. Safety Safety Safety.’ The school year goes by, ’Oh, why do I have to lock my door everyday, you know? “Obviously it’s still an ongoing investigation, but it would make sense that a police chief of a school district would be the initial incident commander," McKenna said. ___More on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shootingCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.
wftv.comUvalde school police chief faulted in shooting response
School Shooting Texas Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw speaks during a press conference held outside Robb Elementary School on Friday, May 27, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. “The tactical, conceptual mindset is definitely there in Texas,” said Joe McKenna, deputy superintendent for the Comal school district in Texas and a former assistant director at the state's school safety center. “It was the wrong decision,” Steven McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said at a news conference Friday. Safety Safety Safety.’ The school year goes by, ’Oh, why do I have to lock my door everyday, you know? “Obviously it’s still an ongoing investigation, but it would make sense that a police chief of a school district would be the initial incident commander," McKenna said.
wftv.comTexas school shooting invades trial of Parkland murderer
Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty in October to murdering 17 and wounding 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018. The lawyers have pared 1,900 potential jurors to about 300 as they seek 12 panelists and eight alternates through a three-stage interview process. But prosecutor Carolyn McCann argued that Cruz’s case must be kept separate from other school shootings and that Texas should not be mentioned. She pointed out that 27 other school shootings have happened in the U.S. just this year — more than one per week. Even when McCann originally erred and repeatedly said there had been 127 school shootings, no one questioned it.
wftv.comReactions pour in after Texas elementary school shooting that killed 19 children, 2 adults
After a Texas elementary school shooting that killed at least 19 children and two adults on Tuesday afternoon, state and federal leaders along with public figures took to social media to express their heartbreak.
Teen in Oxford High school shooting set for Sept. 6 trial
School Shooting Michigan FILE - Ethan Crumbley attends a hearing at Oakland County circuit court in Pontiac, Mich., on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022. A judge has set a Sept. 6, 2022, trial date for the teenager charged with murder and other crimes in a Michigan school shooting that killed four students. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP, Pool File) (David Guralnick)PONTIAC, Mich. — (AP) — A judge on Thursday set a Sept. 6 trial date for a teenager charged with murder and other crimes in a Michigan school shooting that killed four students. Oakland County Judge Kwame Rowe said the date could change but he wanted to set one to "move this case forward.”Ethan Crumbley, who turns 16 next week, is accused of shooting fellow students at Oxford High School on Nov. 30. ___For more of the AP's coverage of the Michigan school shooting: https://apnews.com/hub/oxford-high-school-shootingCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.
wftv.comJudge: Bond stays for Oxford High shooting suspect's parents
School Shooting Michigan FILE - Jennifer Crumbley, left, and James Crumbley, right, the parents of Ethan Crumbley, a teenager accused of killing four students in a shooting at Oxford High School, appear in court for a preliminary examination on involuntary manslaughter charges in Rochester Hills, Mich. on Feb. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File) (Paul Sancya)A judge denied a motion Tuesday to reduce bonds for the jailed parents of a Michigan teenager who is charged in a shooting at Oxford High School that left four of his fellow students dead. Oakland County Circuit Judge Cheryl Matthews said that James and Jennifer Crumbley's actions before their Dec. 4 arrests in a commercial building in Detroit were meant to conceal their whereabouts. McDonald said Tuesday that her office has been spent the past several weeks meeting with parents of the Oxford High students who died and those whose children were wounded. ___For more of the AP's coverage of the Michigan school shooting: https://apnews.com/hub/oxford-high-school-shootingCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.
wftv.comOxford High shooting suspect's parents won't get lower bond
School Shooting Michigan FILE - Jennifer Crumbley, left, and James Crumbley, right, the parents of Ethan Crumbley, a teenager accused of killing four students in a shooting at Oxford High School, appear in court for a preliminary examination on involuntary manslaughter charges in Rochester Hills, Mich. on Feb. 8, 2022. The Crumbleys return to court, Tuesday, March 22, for a pretrial hearing on involuntary manslaughter charges. “The Crumbleys were absolutely shocked parents who had no reason to foresee what would happen,” defense attorneys Shannon Smith and Mariell Lehman wrote earlier. The Oakland County prosecutor’s office opposed a lower bond for the Crumbleys, noting that a similar request was denied by a judge in a lower court. ___For more of the AP's coverage of the Michigan school shooting: https://apnews.com/hub/oxford-high-school-shootingCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.
wftv.comJudge won't lower bond for school shooting suspect's parents
(AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File) (Paul Sancya)PONTIAC, Mich. — (AP) — A judge denied a motion Tuesday to reduce bonds for the jailed parents of a Michigan teenager charged in a fatal shooting at his high school. Four students were killed and more were injured during a shooting at Oxford High School on Nov. 30. PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — The parents of a Michigan teen who is accused of a fatal school shooting are asking a judge to lower their bond and help release them from jail. Four students were killed and more were injured during a shooting at Oxford High School on Nov. 30. The Oakland County prosecutor's office opposes a lower bond for the Crumbleys, noting that a similar request was denied by a judge in a lower court.
wftv.comParents charged in Michigan school shooting seek lower bond
The Crumbleys return to court, Tuesday, March 22, for a pretrial hearing on involuntary manslaughter charges. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File) (Paul Sancya)PONTIAC, Mich. — (AP) — The parents of a Michigan teen who is accused of a fatal school shooting are asking a judge to lower their bond and help release them from jail. Oakland County Judge Cheryl Matthews will hear arguments Tuesday on a request to lower bond to $100,000 each. Four students were killed and more were injured during a shooting at Oxford High School on Nov. 30. The Oakland County prosecutor's office opposes a lower bond for the Crumbleys, noting that a similar request was denied by a judge in a lower court.
wftv.comPolice: Student kills peer at South Carolina middle school
School Shooting-South Carolina Law enforcement respond to a shooting at Tanglewood Middle School in Greenville, S.C., Thursday March 31, 2022. A student was shot and taken to the hospital Thursday at the South Carolina middle school, authorities said. The shooter, a minor, was taken into custody near Tanglewood Middle School not long after the shooting, Greenville County Sheriff’s Lt. Ryan Flood said in a statement. An initial statement issued by police indicated he was a student at the school. (Mike Ellis/The Greenville News via AP) (Mike Ellis)GREENVILLE, S.C. — (AP) — A 12-year-old student was shot and killed Thursday by another 12-year-old student inside their South Carolina middle school, authorities said.
wftv.comProsecutor: Don't name Michigan teen during parents' trial
School Shooting Michigan FILE - Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald addresses the media in her office, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021, in Pontiac, Mich. A prosecutor has asked a judge to forbid naming a Michigan teen charged in a fatal school shooting during court proceedings in his parents' separate criminal trial. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File) (Carlos Osorio)A prosecutor is asking a judge to rule that a Michigan teen charged in a fatal school shooting shouldn't be named in court during his parents' separate criminal trial. “It's one of the key motivators for most shooters, and it was definitely a motivator for the Oxford shooter. He wanted to be famous and he wanted to be remembered.”“So when we repeat the Oxford shooter's name and continuously publicize his photo, we're contributing to future shooting," McDonald continued. The "No Notoriety" movement was partly inspired by the 1999 Columbine school shooting outside Denver.
wftv.comOxford High School reopening nearly 2 months after shooting
School Shooting Michigan FILE - Memorial items are shown on the sign of Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich., Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. Officials planned to welcome students back to Oxford High School on Monday, Jan. 24, 2022, which is reopening for the first time since four students were killed and six students and a teacher were injured during a shooting at the school on Nov. 30, 2021. Oxford High School students have been attending classes at other buildings since Jan. 10. Four students were killed and six students and a teacher were injured during the Nov. 30 shooting. The high school is in Oakland County, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Detroit.
wftv.comFlorida district to pay $26 million to shooting victims
School Shooting Florida FILE- Law enforcement officers block off the entrance to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Feb. 15, 2018 in Parkland, Fla., following a deadly shooting at the school. The families of most of those killed in the 2018 Florida high school massacre have settled their lawsuit against the federal government. Sixteen of the 17 killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland had sued over the FBI’s failure to stop the gunman even though it had received information he intended to attack. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File) (Wilfredo Lee)FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — (AP) — The Broward County, Florida, school district will pay more than $26 million to the families of 17 people killed and some of those injured in the 2018 Valentine's Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Another $1.25 million will be paid in one lump sum to Anthony Borges, who suffered some of the most severe injuries.
wftv.comBoy charged in Michigan school deaths to stay in adult jail
School Shooting Michigan Ethan Crumbley appears on video from the Oakland County Jail at 52nd District Court in Rochester Hills, Mich., Monday, Dec. 13, 2021. Crumbley, 15, is charged as an adult with murder, terrorism and other counts for the Nov. 30 shooting at Oxford High School, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) (Paul Sancya)ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. — (AP) — A Michigan judge declined Monday to move the 15-year-old charged with killing four students at Oxford High School out of an adult jail, but she agreed that the jail needs to ensure the boy can't hear or see grown-up inmates. "This is not someone who has a history of assaulting kids his age or any other negative contact with his peers. Crumbley is charged as an adult with killing four classmates and injuring seven other people in the Nov. 30 shooting at Oxford High School, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Detroit.
wftv.comProsecutor criticizes school over run-up to mass shooting
School Shooting Michigan Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald addresses the media in her office, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021, in Pontiac, Mich. McDonald filed involuntary manslaughter charges against Jennifer and James Crumbley, the parents of 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, who is accused of killing four students at a Michigan high school. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said the investigation's findings will determine whether school officials will be charged in last Tuesday's attack at Oxford High School. Tim Throne, superintendent of the Oxford school district, said Crumbley and his parents met with counselors on the day of the shooting. Thorne said a third party will investigate the events that occurred before the school shooting in Oxford Township, a community of about 23,000 people roughly 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Detroit. ___For more of the AP's coverage of the Michigan school shooting: https://apnews.com/hub/oxford-high-school-shootingCopyright 2021 The Associated Press.
wftv.comArtist whose studio where Michigan parents found cooperating
The couple went to artist Andrzej Sikora's studio inside the downtown building Friday morning, but the artist was unaware of the charges against the couple or that they stayed after he left for the day, according to attorney Clarence Dass. Dass said when the artist awoke Saturday and heard news of authorities taking the couple into custody, he voluntarily contacted authorities. Six students and a teacher were also injured in Tuesday's shooting at Oxford High School, roughly 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Detroit. On Friday, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald's office made the rare decision to file charges against Ethan Crumbley's parents. School district officials have said a third party will investigate the events at Oxford High School that occurred before the shooting.
wftv.comEXPLAINER: How unusual to charge parents in school shooting?
McDonald says the gun used in the shootings at Oxford High School was purchased by James Crumbley a week ago and given to the boy. That's what makes the case against Ethan Crumbley's parents uncommon, following the fatal shooting of four students at Oxford High School in southeastern Michigan. The Crumbley parents and their lawyers haven't commented on the shooting or the charges. “It's an unusual charge to bring,” said Eve Brensike Primus, who teaches criminal procedure at University of Michigan law school. In Washington state, the father of a boy who killed four students at a high school in 2014 was convicted of illegally possessing firearms.
wftv.comEXPLAINER: How unusual to charge parents in school shooting?
McDonald says the gun used in the shootings at Oxford High School was purchased by James Crumbley a week ago and given to the boy. That's what makes the case against Ethan Crumbley's parents uncommon, following the fatal shooting of four students at Oxford High School in southeastern Michigan. The Crumbley parents and their lawyers haven't commented on the shooting or the charges. “It's an unusual charge to bring,” said Eve Brensike Primus, who teaches criminal procedure at University of Michigan law school. In Washington state, the father of a boy who killed four students at a high school in 2014 was convicted of illegally possessing firearms.
wftv.comSuspect’s parents charged in Michigan school shooting
School Shooting Michigan A well wisher kneels to pray at a memorial on the sign of Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich., Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. “The parents were the only individuals in the position to know the access to weapons,” Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said Thursday. “The parents were the only individuals in the position to know the access to weapons,” Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said. Sheriff Mike Bouchard disclosed Wednesday that the parents met with school officials about their son's classroom behavior, just a few hours before the shooting. It’s a terrible, terrible tragedy.”The Oxford school district hasn't commented on the meeting with Crumbley's parents before the shooting.
wftv.comSchool chief: Discipline not needed for boy before shooting
School Shooting Michigan A well wisher kneels to pray at a memorial on the sign of Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich., Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. Tim Throne, leader of Oxford Community Schools, said Oxford High School looks like a “war zone” and won’t be ready for weeks. The sheriff disclosed Wednesday that the parents met with school officials about their son's classroom behavior, just a few hours before the shooting. A 6-year-old boy who was living with him had found a gun in a shoebox and killed a classmate at school. Meanwhile, dozens of schools in southeastern Michigan canceled classes Thursday due to concerns about threatening messages on social media following the Oxford shooting.
wftv.comProsecutor: Gun was 'freely available' to Michigan shooter
School Shooting Michigan A well wisher kneels to pray at a memorial on the sign of Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich., Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. A 15-year-old sophomore opened fire at the school, killing several students and wounding multiple other people, including a teacher. The gun “seems to have been just freely available to that individual.”Jennifer and James Crumbley did not return a message left by The Associated Press. It’s a terrible, terrible tragedy.”The Oxford school district hasn't commented on the meeting with Crumbley's parents before the shooting. Meanwhile, dozens of schools in southeastern Michigan canceled classes Thursday due to concerns about threatening messages on social media following the Oxford shooting.
wftv.comMichigan 15-year-old charged in Oxford High School shooting
School Shooting Michigan A well wisher kneels to pray at a memorial on the sign of Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich., Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. A 15-year-old sophomore opened fire at the school, killing several students and wounding multiple other people, including a teacher. The disclosure was made Wednesday as Ethan Crumbley, 15, was charged as an adult with two dozen crimes, including murder, attempted murder and terrorism for a shooting Tuesday at Oxford High School in Oakland County. This was the deadliest school shooting since the Santa Fe, Texas, High School shooting in 2018, according to The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University Mass Killings database. The shooting should be a wake-up call for new gun laws in a country that has become "desensitized to school shootings," McDonald told reporters.
wftv.comMichigan 15-year-old charged in Oxford High School shooting
School Shooting Michigan A well wisher kneels to pray at a memorial on the sign of Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich., Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. A 15-year-old sophomore opened fire at the school, killing several students and wounding multiple other people, including a teacher. The disclosure was made Wednesday as Ethan Crumbley, 15, was charged as an adult with two dozen crimes, including murder, attempted murder and terrorism for a shooting Tuesday at Oxford High School in Oakland County. This was the deadliest school shooting since the Santa Fe, Texas, High School shooting in 2018, according to The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University Mass Killings database. The shooting should be a wake-up call for new gun laws in a country that has become "desensitized to school shootings," McDonald told reporters.
wftv.comMichigan teen, 15, charged in Oxford High School shooting
School Shooting Michigan A well wisher kneels to pray at a memorial on the sign of Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich., Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. The disclosure was made Wednesday as Ethan Crumbley, 15, was charged as an adult with two dozen crimes, including murder, attempted murder and terrorism for a shooting Tuesday at Oxford High School in Oakland County. “This was not just an impulsive act,” McDonald told reporters. Oxford High, which is located roughly 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Detroit, was closed for the rest of the week along with the district's other schools. It was the deadliest school shooting since the Santa Fe, Texas, High School massacre in 2018, according to The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University Mass Killings database.
wftv.comMichigan teen, 15, charged in Oxford High School shooting
School Shooting Michigan A well wisher kneels to pray at a memorial on the sign of Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich., Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. The disclosure was made Wednesday as Ethan Crumbley, 15, was charged as an adult with two dozen crimes, including murder, attempted murder and terrorism for a shooting Tuesday at Oxford High School in Oakland County. “This was not just an impulsive act,” McDonald told reporters. It was the deadliest school shooting since the Santa Fe, Texas, High School massacre in 2018, according to The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University Mass Killings database. The shooting should be a wake-up call for new gun laws in a country that has become "desensitized to school shootings," McDonald told reporters.
wftv.comJudge: No bond for Michigan teen charged in school shooting
School Shooting Michigan A well wisher kneels to pray at a memorial on the sign of Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich., Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) (Paul Sancya)OXFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — (AP) — A judge has ordered a Michigan boy charged in the shooting at Oxford High School to be moved from a juvenile facility to a county jail. Ethan Crumbley will be held without bond on charges of murder, attempted murder, terrorism causing death and gun crimes. No motive was offered by Oakland County authorities, a day after violence at Oxford High School, roughly 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Detroit. Her grandchildren attended the high school.
wftv.comSheriff: Boy's parents called to Oxford High before violence
School Shooting Michigan A well wisher kneels to pray at a memorial on the sign of Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich., Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) (Paul Sancya)OXFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — (AP) — A sheriff says the parents of a 15-year-old boy charged in a shooting that killed four fellow students at Oxford High School in Michigan had been summoned to the school before the violence. OXFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A 15-year-old boy was charged Wednesday with murder, terrorism and other crimes for a shooting that killed four fellow students and injured others at a Michigan high school. Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald did not reveal a possible motive for Tuesday's violence at Oxford High School and declined to comment when pressed about whether she believed the victims were specifically targeted. Her grandchildren attended the high school.
wftv.comTeacher disarmed school shooter, hugged her until help came
When a student opened fire at an Idaho middle school, teacher Krista Gneiting directed children to safety, rushed to help a wounded victim and then calmly disarmed the sixth-grade shooter, hugging and consoling the girl until police arrived.
Russian officials: School shooting in Kazan kills 8 people
Russia School Shooting Ambulances and police cars and a truck are parked at a school after a shooting in Kazan, Russia, Tuesday, May 11, 2021. Russian media report that several people have been killed and wounded in a school shooting in the city of Kazan. (AP Photo/Roman Kruchinin) (Roman Kruchinin)MOSCOW — (AP) — A gunman attacked a school Tuesday morning in the Russian city of Kazan, killing eight people — seven students and a teacher — and leaving 21 other people hospitalized with wounds, Russian officials said. Other accomplices haven’t been established, an investigation is underway,” Minnikhanov said after visiting the school, adding that security had been restored to the school. Russia’s state RIA Novosti news agency reported earlier that 11 people had been killed in the Kazan school shooting.
wftv.com