The chilling alleged role of the Michigan school shooter's parents

[View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter]( December 3, 2021 Howdy, and happy Friday. Prosecutors in Michigan took a highly unusual step today by pressing involuntary manslaughter charges against the parents of the suspect in the shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan earlier this week. According to local authorities, the parents were [on the run](, but their lawyer now says they're returning home to be arraigned. Parents aren't typically charged when their children commit crimes like school shootings, even if the parents owned the firearms that were used. But this case, an Oakland County prosecutor said, is particularly "egregious." On Black Friday, James Crumbley bought a semiautomatic 9-millimeter Sig Sauer handgun for his 15-year-old son, Ethan. On Monday, a teacher became alarmed when she saw Ethan searching for ammunition online. His mother's text message response? "LOL, I’m not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught." On Tuesday, teachers called the suspect's parents to the school after they had discovered a disturbing image he had drawn of a shooting victim surrounded by the words "Blood everywhere. The thoughts won't stop. Help me." The parents—knowing that their son had access to a gun—refused to pull him from school that day. That afternoon, he opened fire on his classmates, killing four of them. This conduct not only defies all reason. According to prosecutors, it's also criminal. Read more about the case from my colleagues Noah Kim [here]( and Mark Follman [here](. —Abigail Weinberg Advertisement [Oxford University Press]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [The Chilling Alleged Role of the Michigan School Shooter’s Parents]( “LOL, I’m not mad at you,” the mom allegedly texted her son about his ammo search. “You have to learn not to get caught.” BY MARK FOLLMAN [Trending] [Twitter’s new privacy policy makes it harder to spread warnings about online fascists]( BY ALI BRELAND [The Democrats have a discipline dilemma]( BY KARA VOGHT [Lauren Boebert is only going to get worse]( BY NATHALIE BAPTISTE [Cancer is the leading cause of “death from disease” in children. Here’s why.]( BY JIM MORRIS AND LAUREN BERRYMAN Advertisement [Oxford University Press]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [In Syria’s Endless War, Health Workers Are Not Only Collateral Damage—They’re Targets]( “Working in a field hospital is like death.” BY LEONARD RUBENSTEIN [Get More From David Corn] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755