Charging parents sends big message

School shootings and mass shootings in general have become as American as apple pie, but that doesn’t mean we should ever accept them or stop trying to prevent them. Perhaps what just took place in Michigan will be another step in the right direction toward curtailing these shootings.
While there have been countless school shootings over the years, no parent had ever been charged in connection with the crime. That ended with the latest shooting, when the parents of Ethan Crumbley were charged alongside their son, who has been charged as an adult with terrorism, murder and other counts in the shooting. The parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, have been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Whether or not these charges end up sticking, it is significant they were filed. The prosecution in the case felt the actions, or lack thereof, the Crumbley parents took to both aid and fail to deter the shooting were “egregious.” They bought their son a handgun four days before the shooting, and they ignored what appear to be obvious signs their son was disturbed and needed some help. He was found in class searching to buy ammo, and drawing macabre photos of students being shot. Any one of these things by itself is innocuous. Add them altogether, however, and they can start to paint a picture of a misguided teenager who was a ticking time bomb. His parents could have, and should have, prevented the boom.
The Crumbley parents have secured attorneys, who have started to paint a different picture of what happened on the morning Crumbley murdered four fellow students. They argue, contrary to what the prosecution has stated, that Ethan did not have unfettered access to the handgun he used for the killings, and that it was actually locked away.
The parents were called for a meeting in the school with a counselor and their son, who had altered the illustration by scratching out the drawings of the gun and bloody figure, along with the words. The parents refused to take their son out of the school, and he was allowed back to class.
Guns don’t kill people. The people pulling the trigger do that. Ethan Crumbley will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars, and rightfully so. What will be fascinating to see is whether or not a court of law finds his parents—who did not shoot anyone, to be clear—share culpability by their actions and inactions leading up to the shooting.
Whatever happens, a precedent has been set: The parents of school shooters could now very well face charges along with their children. That could trickle down to other shootings as well, which in turn could lead to unintended consequences. Who knows how it will all play out.
If your child is struggling, seek help. Know what they are up to. Be nosy. Be demanding. Be a parent. Many other lives might depend on it.