PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) – The parents of a teen accused of killing four students in a shooting at a Michigan high school were caught early Saturday, several hours after a prosecutor filed involuntary manslaughter charges against them, a sheriff’s office said.
James and Jennifer Crumbley were captured in Detroit, Oakland County Undersheriff Michael McCabe said in a statement. A vehicle tied to the couple had been located by a Detroit business owner late Friday. The couple was found a short time later, and the pair were expected to be booked into the Oakland County Jail.
A prosecutor filed involuntary manslaughter charges against the parents earlier Friday, accusing them of failing to intervene on the day of the tragedy despite being confronted with a drawing and chilling message – “blood everywhere” – that was found at the boy’s desk.
The Crumbleys committed “egregious” acts, from buying a gun on Black Friday and making it available to Ethan Crumbley to resisting his removal from school when they were summoned a few hours before the shooting, Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said.
“I expect parents and everyone to have humanity and to step in and stop a potential tragedy,” she said. “The conclusion I draw is that there was absolute reason to believe this individual was dangerous and disturbed.”