Parents of accused killer in Michigan school shooting arrested after vehicle was found in Detroit

Prosecutor said they bought the firearm for their son as a Christmas gift. 

By Edward Era Barbacena

James and Jennifer Crumbley, the white couple and  parents of the teen charged in the Oxford High School shooting were located and arrested early Saturday in Detroit, a little more than two hours after a citizen saw their vehicle and called police.

"Yes, they are both in custody and will be on the way to the Oakland County Jail soon," said Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe. "Kudos to Detroit PD and all the other agencies that assisted."

Ethan Crumbley

Authorities had been searching for the Crumbleys as the little white killer's parents since about noon Friday after they were charged with four counts each of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting deaths at the high school in Michigan. Their son, Ethan Crumbley, 15, is accused of fatally shooting four students and injuring seven others at the suburban Detroit high school on Tuesday.

The Crumbley parents did not show for their arraignment Friday afternoon in Rochester Hills, Michigan. The U.S. Marshals Service issued "Wanted" posters and offered a reward for information leading to their arrests. 

The investigation of the shootings and the search for the Crumbleys was led by the Oakland County Sheriff's Office. McCabe said the vehicle was found around 11:30 p.m. Friday.

"The owner of the building arrived and saw the car in the back parking lot, knew it didn’t belong there, went to investigate," McCabe told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network.

The building's owner immediately recognized the car from information put out by law enforcement, checked the license plate, which matched, and called 911.

By about 1:45 a.m., the Crumbleys were under arrest.

Jennifer and James Crumbley were each charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter after the prosecutor said they bought the firearm for their son as a Christmas gift. 

During a hearing that started around noon, a lieutenant with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office said the parents were not in custody. The Oakland County Fugitive Team, along with several agencies, were searching for the couple as of Friday evening.

"The action of fleeing and ignoring their attorney certainly adds weight to the charges," Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a release Friday. "They cannot run from their part in this tragedy."

But the family's lawyers said the couple was not fleeing from authorities and were returning to the area after having left town briefly amid the commotion surrounding tragedy.

"The Crumbleys left town on the night of the tragic shooting for their own safety. They are returning to the area to be arraigned," their lawyers Smith and Mariell Lehman said. 

The gun had been stored in an unlocked drawer in their house, and Crumbley's parents did not ask where it was when they were called to the school the day of the shooting for a disturbing drawing their son made of a firearm, said Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald at a news conference Friday.

Ethan Crumbley had posted about the firearm online and researched ammunition while at school, McDonald said the investigation revealed. He was also allowed to return to class on the day of the shooting after the meeting with his parents, she said.  

"The facts of this case are so egregious," McDonald said.

Charges for parents of shooter rare, experts say:Michigan school shooting is 'so egregious,' the suspect's parents are charged.

Michigan school shooting suspect faces life in prison: What murder, terrorism charges mean

Crumbley was charged Wednesday as an adult with murder, terrorism and other crimes in what investigators described as a methodical and deliberate massacre.