On the morning of November 30, 2021, school staff became concerned about a violent drawing of a gun, a bullet, and a wounded man, accompanied by desperate expressions, in Ethan Crombley's math assignment. His parents were called to the school to meet with school staff, but they did not take the boy home.
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A few hours later, Ethan Crombley pulled a gun from his backpack and shot 10 students and a teacher. No one checked the backpack.
The gun was a 9mm Sig Sauer pistol that his father, James Crumbley, had bought for him just four days earlier. Jennifer Crumbley took her son to the shooting range that same weekend.
“You're the last adult to have that gun,” Assistant District Attorney Mark Keast said during cross-examination of Jennifer Crombley last week. “I saw your son shoot the last practice round before the shooting on November 30. I saw how he stood…he knew how to use the gun.”
“Yes, he did,” the teen's mother replied.
Along with 17-year-old Justin Schilling and 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin, Hannah St. Giuliana, 14, and Tate Meyer, 16, were also killed. Seven people were injured.
Ethan Crombley, now 17, has pleaded guilty to murder and terrorism and is serving a life sentence.
Jennifer and James Crombley are the first parents in the United States to be charged with a mass school shooting committed by their child. James Crombley, 47, faces trial in March.
Jennifer Crumbley told the jury it was her husband's job to trace the gun. She also said she saw no signs of mental disorder in her son.
“We were talking. We did a lot of things together.” “I trusted him, and I felt like the door was open for me. He can come to me about anything.”
An excerpt from Ethan Crombley's journal was shown in court.credit: Detroit Free Press via AP
In his diary, which police found, Ethan Crombley wrote that his parents did not listen to his pleas for help.
“I have no help for my mental issues and this is what led me to shoot up the school,” he wrote.
The jury of six men and six women included people who owned guns or grew up with them in their homes. They said they could put their opinions about guns aside and serve fairly.
Police footage of James Crombley (top center) and his wife Jennifer (right) being questioned by police.credit: AP
Jennifer Crombley will get credit for about two and a half years in county jail when she returns to court for sentencing on April 9. The judge will determine the minimum prison sentence, based on registration guidelines and other factors.
It will be up to the Michigan Parole Board to determine how long you actually spend in prison. The maximum term for manslaughter is 15 years.
AP
