Federal judge dismisses slew of Oxford High shooting civil suits
In a largely procedural move, a federal judge on Tuesday, May 20, dismissed several civil lawsuits claiming Oxford Community Schools' officials could have prevented the attack that left four students dead and seven others, including a teacher, injured. The dismissals were with prejudice, meaning the same case can't be filed again.
The dismissal applies to cases filed by multiple students who survived gunshot wounds that day and family members of all the students who were killed: Hana St. Juliana, Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre and Justin Shilling.
While it closes a heartbreaking and long legal chapter for the families fighting in federal court, the dismissal was expected. It follows a March 2025 opinion by a U.S. Court of Appeals 6th District Court judge finding that the plaintiffs did not provide enough evidence to show that school district officials were "so outrageous and so callous in their disregard" of the danger the shooter posed that it violated their constitutional rights.
Following the tragedy at Oxford High School, a slew of family members of dead students, injured students and traumatized students filed suit, accusing district officials of negligence in preventing the shooting. The suits and criminal case against the shooter revealed a number of troubling incidents before he brought a gun to school and used it, according to court documents:
An English teacher saw the shooter, Ethan Crumbley, looking at photos of bullets on his phone. He was referred to a school counselor, Shawn Hopkins. Crumbley told Hopkins it was a family hobby.
On Nov. 30, the day of the shooting, another teacher saw Crumbley watching videos of shootings on his phone. The teacher also reported the behavior to Hopkins, while another teacher that same day reported that Crumbley on a worksheet had sketched the image of a gun, a person with gunshot wounds and had written, "blood everywhere," "my life is useless," and "the thoughts won't stop help me."
Hopkins called Crumbley's parents to the school and said he needed immediate counseling. They said they could not take him from school and Hopkins threatened to call Children's Protective Services if they didn't get their son help in 48 hours. Hopkins and another school official returned Crumbley's backpack, which was where he'd stored his gun, and allowed the student to return to class.
More: 12-year-old Oxford girl stuns in school shooting drama at Detroit Public Theatre
Later, attorneys for the families of students killed in the shooting argued the inaction by district officials amounted to a violation of the 14th Amendment, which stipulates that Americans will not be deprived of "life, liberty or property" without due process.
Attorneys for the school district and officials argued they were shielded from these claims through government immunity, which largely protects government officials in the case of civil lawsuits except for in extreme cases. As the cases continued to wind through the court system, family members complained in interviews with news organizations that such immunity clauses unfairly protected Oxford High staff members.
More: Wayne County hiring specialist to monitor its teens on social media to prevent violence
Christine Smith, a spokeswoman for the district, shared the following statement:
"We are aware of the federal court's decision and understand that it may bring a range of emotions for our community. As always, our focus is on our students, staff, families, and the Oxford community as we are dedicated to fostering a safe, compassionate, and supportive environment for all. We remain deeply committed to supporting all who were impacted by this tragedy and want to remind our community that mental health resources and support are available for anyone who needs them at oxfordschools.org/support."
Contact Lily Altavena: laltavena@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Federal judge dismisses slew of Oxford High shooting civil suits
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
Trump's Assault on D.C. Is a Grave Threat to the District and Democracy
President Donald Trump is federalizing control of the local police and deploying the National Guard in Washington, D.C., to further his authoritarian and anti-democratic agenda. As autocrats commonly do, Trump is seeking control over the national capital in order to intimidate and squelch dissent. Like despots around the world and throughout history, Trump is also relying on the pretextual deployment of military force to intimidate and project power, to suppress protest and undercut democracy. Across the nation, Americans should protest this move and what it means for our democracy. They should worry that Trump will misuse claims of national emergency to block peaceful protest and that he will deploy troops to deter demonstrators, or worse. President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters after signing an executive order in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Aug. 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters after signing an executive order in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Aug. 5, 2025, in Washington, is a move of dubious legality and no necessity. The Home Rule Act governing the District of Columbia gives the president authority to take control of the metropolitan police force when there are "special conditions of an emergency nature." There are no special conditions and there is no emergency. Like everyone, Washingtonians want to be secure in their person, but everyday street crime does not constitute an emergency—especially when the Justice Department's own statistics show the violent crime rate in the District is at its lowest point in decades. There is a major crime problem in Washington, D.C., but it's not the one Trump is talking about—and it's one the administration is making that far worse. Corporate crime and wrongdoing—pollution, dangerous products, financial fraud and scams, unsafe workplaces, and more—inflicts far more damage on people than street crime, whether measured by dollars, injuries, or lives. But Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi are epically weak on corporate crime enforcement—probably the weakest in American history. They are ending investigations and prosecutions into corporations, announcing no-prosecute policies against whole areas of corporate wrongdoing, and redirecting law enforcement resources away from corporate crime and toward its mass deportation agenda. Trump is also complaining about homelessness in D.C. There is, in fact, a significant housing problem in Washington, D.C., like there is throughout the nation. But on this score, Trump is doing nothing to help—and actively making things worse. Telling people without housing that they have to "move out" of the District, as Trump has done, does nothing to actually address that problem. Investing more in housing would help, but there were no such investments in Trump's tax and budget reconciliation bill—he was too busy conferring giant tax breaks on the super rich and corporations and stripping health care coverage from everyday Americans. Those health care cuts will significantly worsen homelessness—both because health care is key to help people without housing and because Medicaid is often used for supportive housing. Providing support to people with addiction issues would also help address the homelessness challenge; instead, the administration is considering withholding already appropriated funding for responding to fentanyl overdoses. Trump's actions have nothing to do with anything happening in Washington, D.C. Trump is motivated instead to advance his authoritarian agenda and to distract from his political weakness. This aligns perfectly with his other despotic tendencies, for example his enemies lists, his mantra of "loyalists only"—particularly those who support his election denialism—to key appointments, and Pam Biondi's recent move to deputize Ed Martin to investigate perceived opponents like Adam Schiff and Tish James. Washington, D.C. does not need National Guard members—who signed up to address genuine national security threats and actual emergencies, not to be political pawns—on our streets. Instead, what we in D.C. need is representation in Congress and more federal funding to mitigate the restrictions on the District's power of taxation. But this is an issue of import that goes far beyond the interests of the people of Washington, D.C.—and not just because D.C. is our nation's capital. Trump is now broadcasting that he hopes to militarize law enforcement in cities across the country. Whether the nation tolerates—or rises up to oppose—Trump's actions in Washington will very meaningfully impact whether the country goes down a democratic or authoritarian path. Robert Weissman and Lisa Gilbert are Public Citizen co-presidents. The views expressed in this article are the writers' own.
Fox News
3 hours ago
- Fox News
ICE Houston arrests more than 350 gang members -- and it's not just MS-13
FIRST ON FOX: During the first six months of President Donald Trump's second term in office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Houston has arrested more than 350 illegal migrants who are members of more than 40 different gangs – including the violent street MS-13 and Tren de Aragua street crews who have been wreaking havoc on American streets. The arrests were a result of the administration's focus on targeting the "worst of the worst" criminal migrants for arrest and deportation in order to bolster public safety and restore integrity to the nation's immigration system, according to the Department of Homeland Security. One migrant had re-entered the U.S. 40 times. In total, 356 gang members were arrested in the sweeps, of which they were collectively convicted of 1,685 criminal offenses, including heinous acts like murder, child sex crimes, sex trafficking, as well as arson and theft. To put these figures into perspective, in the first six months of the Biden administration, 75 gang members were arrested in the Houston area. That's a 375% increase in arrests of gang members under the Trump administration in this area. In 2021, the ICE Houston field office arrested 115 gang members during the entire year. Altogether, ICE arrested members of 39 MS-13 gang members, 25 Tren de Aragua gang members, six Latin Kings gang members, 159 Paisas gang members and 26 Tango Blast gang members during this year's operations. Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin credited the surge in arrests to aggressive enforcement under the Trump administration and said the results are a major blow to transnational criminal gangs operating in the U.S. "Thanks to President Trump and [Homeland Security] Secretary Noem, these illegal alien gang members are off America's streets," McLaughlin said. "Across the country, ICE law enforcement is targeting these vicious gangs that rape, maim, and murder Americans for sport." "President Trump and Secretary Noem unleashed ICE to dismantle transnational criminal terrorist gangs," McLaughlin added. "The days of unchecked gang violence are OVER." Notable arrests include that of Milton Alexander Magaña Fuentes, a 31-year-old Paisas gang member from El Salvador who is a convicted child predator with a criminal record that includes sexual indecency with a child, failure to register as a sex offender. He has illegally entered the U.S. four times. Ronald Alberto Rivas-Aguilar, a 28-year-old MS-13 gang member also from El Salvador, has been convicted of homicide and illegally entering the U.S. twice, while Humberto Romero Avila, a 45-year-old member of the Paisas gang from Mexico, is wanted for homicide in his home country and has illegally entered the U.S. ten times. While in the U.S., he was convicted of four DWIs and larceny. Herson Barrera Vasquez, a Latin Kings gang member, has seven assault convictions, as well as convictions for fraud, damaging property, drug trafficking, larceny, multiple DWIs, and disorderly conduct. He has now been deported four times. Gabriel Martinez, acting field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Houston, said that over the past few years, gangs have carried out brutal crimes — including the rape and murder of an innocent 12-year-old girl on her way to the store. "Despite attempts by some to undermine the courageous work being done by our officers, the brave men and women of ICE continue to put their lives on the line every day to arrest violent transnational gang members, foreign fugitives and dangerous criminal aliens," Martinez said. "Our officers know their efforts can help prevent atrocities like that from every occurring again and they won't rest until they're all gone."
The Hill
4 hours ago
- The Hill
Massie, Khanna bringing Epstein survivors to Capitol
Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) are planning to bring survivors of abuse by the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell to the Capitol. Khanna and Massie announced that the survivors will join them at a press conference the morning of Sept. 3, the day that the House returns from August recess. According to an advisory from the lawmakers, several of the survivors will be speaking publicly about their abuse for the first time. Attorneys for the survivors, Brad Edwards and Brittany Henderson, will also be present. 'The survivors deserve justice and Americans deserve transparency,' Massie said in a post on social platform X. The press conference comes as Khanna and Massie are pushing legislation to compel the Trump administration to release the ' Epstein files ' — documents and materials related to the investigation of Epstein and Maxwell. The duo is planning to file a discharge petition to circumvent House leadership and force a vote on that measure — a gambit that would require 218 signatures, marking a majority of the House, to succeed. Those calling for more Epstein disclosures saw another blow on Monday after U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer denied the Justice Department's (DOJ) request to unseal grand jury materials used to charge Maxwell. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, meanwhile, is conducting other investigation of the Epstein matter. Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) was compelled to issue subpoenas for documents and testimony due to a bipartisan push from his panel's members. Deadlines for those subpoenas are coming up in the next few weeks, though dates could change. The DOJ is due to send over Epstein-related documents to the committee by Aug. 19. Subpoena dates are also set for former Attorneys General Bill Barr, Alberto Gonzales, and Jeff Sessions this month — with several other subpoenas, including for former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, scheduled for September and October. The move comes after the DOJ and FBI issued a joint memo last month concluding that Epstein killed himself and did not keep a so-called 'client list.' The findings were contrary to previous comments from the Trump administration and raised concerns on both sides of the aisle.
