OAKLAND COUNTY, MI – As an entire family sat in jail after the parents of the accused Oxford High School shooting suspect were caught at a Detroit art studio, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard stood at a podium fielding questions regarding the case Saturday evening.
Bouchard called the news conference at 4 p.m. on Dec. 4, hours after the arrest of James and Jennifer Crumbley.
Their son, 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, is the suspected shooter who killed four students and wounded seven people on Nov. 30.
The four students — Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Justin Shilling, 17 — died from their injuries. Six other students and one teacher were wounded.
Authorities activated a manhunt Friday after an arrest warrant was issued for the Crumbleys on charges of involuntary manslaughter.
Bouchard said the couple did not turn themselves in and were not responding to calls from their attorney.
“We’re not going to sit at the front desk and tap our fingers until they come in,” Bouchard said during the press conference. “We were out actively looking for them.”
Bouchard said his department worked alongside several other police agencies and U.S. Marshals Eastern District of Michigan, which offered a $10,000 reward to find the couple.
The Crumbleys were taken into custody around 1:30 a.m. by the Detroit Police Department after a 911 caller reported seeing their black 2021 Kia Seltos SUV in a parking lot on Bellevue Street near East Jefferson Avenue.
U.S. Marshal Owen Cypher, who joined Bouchard at the podium, said the tipster may be able to receive the reward if they step forward.
Related: Bond set at $500,000 for parents of alleged Oxford High School shooter
Bouchard indicated more arrests could come during the investigation, saying he believes the couple received help while evading police.
Bouchard said it “raises my eyebrows” they were hiding in a Detroit warehouse.
“We have enough indications that clearly somebody helped them into that location and made it available to them,” Bouchard said. “And that was after it was publicly announced that there were warrants for them.”
Investigators are still gathering information for prosecutors to issue potential charges of aiding and abetting or obstruction of justice, Bouchard said.
After the arrest, the Crumbleys were transported to Oakland County Jail. Bouchard said it’s unlikely the teen knows his parents were arrested.
“I honestly couldn’t tell you. My guess is no,” he said. “It’s not something we would necessarily go let (him) know.”
Related: ‘Ethan don’t do it,’ Mom texted son when she heard news of Oxford school shooting, prosecutor says
The Crumbleys are each being held on a $500,000 bond and facing involuntary manslaughter charges.
Their son, who is facing charges of first-degree murder, terrorism, assault with intent to murder and possessing a firearm in the commission of a felony, was denied bond.
All three Crumbleys are segregated and being held in isolation under suicide watch.
“There was no indication that any of them were suicidal, but out of an abundance of caution our amazing corrections team is doing suicide watches on all three of them,” Bouchard said.
The Oxford shooting is one of the deadliest on a K-12 campus since 2018 when eight students and two teachers were killed at Sante Fe High School in Texas.
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‘We really need to listen to our kids’: How to address children’s fears about Oxford shooting
