Latest news with #OxfordHighSchool
CBS News
3 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Memorial garden captures spirit of victims in Oxford High School shooting
Hana's Garden at Seymour Lake Township Park is now open. The memorial honors the victims of the Oxford High School shooting. It's a project three years in the making. "I had my doubts many times that we were going to get to this point, but to actually get here and have the garden turn out like it has, is just amazing, even better than what I envisioned," Steve St. Juliana, whose daughter Hanna was one of the victims, said. The design is centered around the number four. "For the four students that were killed, Hana (St. Juliana), Justin (Shilling), Tate (Myre), and Madisyn (Baldwin), and so there's groups of four cherry trees, four fountains, things like that," St. Juliana said. Hints of purple are scattered around the garden — Hana St. Juliana's favorite color. "It was one of a natural thing for us to add to the garden. And the water feature was just something that we really wanted to have, all of the elements represented. And it also fits in with her Japanese heritage of having the water in the garden as well," St. Juliana said. During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Hana's father took the opportunity to not only thank the community for their support, but also to demand change. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, surrounded by the mothers of Shilling and Baldwin, says she fully supports the call for statewide action. "It's changed everybody's lives, everybody in the community. And I, I can't say enough about how much I admire the strength of these families that have not given up," McDonald said. "This group of parents are not going to stop until they get answers." Hana's father says he hopes the garden will become a pillar of the community for the years to come.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Michigan Supreme Court won't hear out Oxford High School mass shooting civil cases
Michigan Supreme Court / Hall of Justice | Photo by Jon King The Michigan Supreme Court denied a request on Wednesday filed on behalf of the parents of the victims of the 2021 Oxford High School mass shooting to hear out legal arguments that the school and its employees failed to protect their kids. The denial marks a monumental blow to civil case efforts against Oxford Community Schools by the families of students who were killed, injured or now live with the impact of the killings. In their order, the justices said that the court was not persuaded that the issues being raised by the families and their attorneys should be reviewed by the state Supreme Court. Attorneys representing the families argued in lower courts that Michigan's Governmental Tort Liability Act has been unconstitutionally protecting Oxford Public Schools and its employees from civil liability for their 'grossly negligent' actions prior to the November 2021 shooting. In September, the Michigan Court of Appeals sided with Oxford Schools in maintaining its immunity and the attorneys representing the students' families sought to have the state's highest court hear their arguments. Without their day in court, Buck Myre, father of Tate Myre who was killed in the shooting at age 16, said during a news conference Wednesday the state of Michigan is telling families that it's okay if tragedies like what happened at Oxford High School happen again and again. 'It's our government saying nothing's going to change. We don't have to change, and we're willing to sacrifice kids as a gun statistic to keep doing what we're doing,' Myre said. 'I would never want anybody to walk in these shoes that we're walking in. That's why we want there to be change.' The government should not be immune from accountability, Myre said, and every effort should be made to analyze what the school did wrong and how the lives of his son, Hana St. Juliana, 14; Justin Shilling, 17, and Madisyn Baldwin, 17, could have been saved. Could a Michigan school shooting have been prevented? Soon after the tragedy at Oxford High School, the public became aware that on the day of the shooting, where the shooter, then a 15-year-old student at the school, drew pictures of the gun he had brought to school on an assignment, along with a bloodied figure and the words 'Blood everywhere,', 'The world is dead.' and 'Help me.' The shooter had several interactions in recent months with school employees about concerning behaviors like an apparent drop in mood and searching online for firearm ammunition during class. After a teacher saw what the shooter drew on his assignment, his parents were called to the school for a meeting with school staff who didn't make the parents take their son home for the day, nor did anyone at the school check his school bag for the gun. The shooter was sentenced to Michigan's highest criminal penalty, life in prison without the possibility of parole, in December of 2023. His parents were sentenced to 10-15 years in prison on four counts of involuntary manslaughter for their role in the killings in April 2024. Judges throw out Oxford school shooting families' case against school officials The reality is there have been more school shootings since Oxford and there are things the world could've learned from this tragedy if the courts would allow light to shine on that day back in 2021, Meghan Gregory, mother of Keegan Gregory who survived the Oxford High School shooting said during the Wednesday news conference. Those kids' lives matter, Gregory said, and so while Oxford Schools can hide behind immunity, the families whose lives are forever changed by the shooting will work to find a way for accountability to happen and the truth to be revealed. 'I think we're all still kind of just trying to process that they won't even listen to our case,' Gregory said. 'This was a mass casualty, this was a huge deal and the fact they don't seem to care is just, it's really disheartening.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Michigan Supreme Court won't hear out Oxford High School mass shooting civil cases
Michigan Supreme Court / Hall of Justice | Photo by Jon King The Michigan Supreme Court denied a request on Wednesday filed on behalf of the parents of the victims of the 2021 Oxford High School mass shooting to hear out legal arguments that the school and its employees failed to protect their kids. The denial marks a monumental blow to civil case efforts against Oxford Community Schools by the families of students who were killed, injured or now live with the impact of the killings. In their order, the justices said that the court was not persuaded that the issues being raised by the families and their attorneys should be reviewed by the state Supreme Court. Attorneys representing the families argued in lower courts that Michigan's Governmental Tort Liability Act has been unconstitutionally protecting Oxford Public Schools and its employees from civil liability for their 'grossly negligent' actions prior to the November 2021 shooting. In September, the Michigan Court of Appeals sided with Oxford Schools in maintaining its immunity and the attorneys representing the students' families sought to have the state's highest court hear their arguments. Without their day in court, Buck Myre, father of Tate Myre who was killed in the shooting at age 16, said during a news conference Wednesday the state of Michigan is telling families that it's okay if tragedies like what happened at Oxford High School happen again and again. 'It's our government saying nothing's going to change. We don't have to change, and we're willing to sacrifice kids as a gun statistic to keep doing what we're doing,' Myre said. 'I would never want anybody to walk in these shoes that we're walking in. That's why we want there to be change.' The government should not be immune from accountability, Myre said, and every effort should be made to analyze what the school did wrong and how the lives of his son, Hana St. Juliana, 14; Justin Shilling, 17, and Madisyn Baldwin, 17, could have been saved. Could a Michigan school shooting have been prevented? Soon after the tragedy at Oxford High School, the public became aware that on the day of the shooting, where the shooter, then a 15-year-old student at the school, drew pictures of the gun he had brought to school on an assignment, along with a bloodied figure and the words 'Blood everywhere,', 'The world is dead.' and 'Help me.' The shooter had several interactions in recent months with school employees about concerning behaviors like an apparent drop in mood and searching online for firearm ammunition during class. After a teacher saw what the shooter drew on his assignment, his parents were called to the school for a meeting with school staff who didn't make the parents take their son home for the day, nor did anyone at the school check his school bag for the gun. The shooter was sentenced to Michigan's highest criminal penalty, life in prison without the possibility of parole, in December of 2023. His parents were sentenced to 10-15 years in prison on four counts of involuntary manslaughter for their role in the killings in April 2024. Judges throw out Oxford school shooting families' case against school officials The reality is there have been more school shootings since Oxford and there are things the world could've learned from this tragedy if the courts would allow light to shine on that day back in 2021, Meghan Gregory, mother of Keegan Gregory who survived the Oxford High School shooting said during the Wednesday news conference. Those kids' lives matter, Gregory said, and so while Oxford Schools can hide behind immunity, the families whose lives are forever changed by the shooting will work to find a way for accountability to happen and the truth to be revealed. 'I think we're all still kind of just trying to process that they won't even listen to our case,' Gregory said. 'This was a mass casualty, this was a huge deal and the fact they don't seem to care is just, it's really disheartening.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
CBS News
28-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Michigan Supreme Court declines to hear Oxford High School shooting civil cases
Civil litigation by families of the victims of the Oxford High School shooting has ended, per order of the Michigan Supreme Court, with Michigan's government immunity law appearing to be the sticking point on whether the case was viable. Attorneys Ven Johnson and Chris Desmond, who have been working on behalf of the Oxford families, spoke to the news media Wednesday afternoon on the case that was pending against the school district. The others on the Zoom call were family members, Meghan Gregory, the mother of Keegan Gregory, who survived the shooting, and Buck Myre, the father of Tate Myre, who was one of the fatality victims. All four of them expressed their frustration and disappointment after the Michigan Supreme Court issued its order Wednesday. The justices had said in a brief statement that "we are not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this court." "This case should have been allowed to proceed to trial," Johnson said. The attorneys explained that taking a case to the Michigan Supreme Court is much more difficult than taking a case to the appeals level. The Supreme Court does not have to hear a case, nor do the justices need to explain why or why not. "This is an incredibly sad day in the life of this case," Desmond said. "The Michigan Supreme Court doesn't necessarily have to tell you what they think." The Oxford High School shooting in November 2021 resulted in the deaths of four students and injuries to seven others. The shooter, Ethan Crumbley, who was 15 years old at the time, was charged as an adult in Oakland County and is currently serving his criminal sentence. The case earned national attention as it was one of the first school shooting cases in which authorities sought charges against both the shooter, who was a student at the time, and his parents. The Michigan Supreme Court decision is the response to a Michigan appeals court ruling issued in September. The original lawsuit was filed in an attempt to hold school employees accountable, the families would have needed to provide evidence that the school district was primarily responsible for the deaths and injuries that day. But the appeals court agreed with a lower court's ruling that the circumstances did not overcome the existing threshold for governmental immunity. That was the topic that the lawyers and family members focused on during their remarks on Wednesday. Michigan's government immunity law dates back to the 1980s. Given the political realities of asking the Michigan legislature to rewrite the law, those speaking at the press conference think their options for what happens next are limited. One idea under discussion is a rally in Lansing to bring public attention to the matter, the details and date to be determined. "We've got to address this immunity thing. Our government is not above the law," Myre said. "These kids deserve justice," Gregory said. Earlier this month, an appeals court rejected an effort to overturn the most serious of the criminal convictions against the shooter. The shooter's parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, were convicted in 2024 of four counts of manslaughter for their roles in the circumstances.
Washington Post
28-05-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Michigan court ends effort to sue Oxford school staff over 2021 mass shooting
DETROIT — The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed appeals by families of students killed or wounded at Oxford High School in 2021, ending efforts to hold employees partly responsible for the mass shooting. Under Michigan law, immunity is a high hurdle to overcome in lawsuits against a government body, including public school staff. Lawyers typically have to show that gross negligence occurred. The court, in a two-sentence order, said it would not step into the litigation. The decision means a 3-0 Court of Appeals decision in favor of school employees will stand. A lawyer for the families said he would speak at an afternoon news conference. The appeals court in September said there was no evidence that Oxford staff were the 'proximate cause' of the tragedy, noting it was 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley who 'made the definite and premeditated decision' to take a gun to school, kill four students and wound seven other people. Before the shooting, he sketched images of a gun, a bullet and a wounded man on a math paper, accompanied by despondent phrases. His parents were quickly called to a meeting at school but declined to take him home. No one — parents or staff — checked the boy's backpack for a gun, though an administrator joked that it was heavy. Crumbley, now 19, is serving a life prison sentence. His parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, are each serving 10-year sentences for involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors said they had ignored his mental health needs, bought him a gun as a gift and then failed to safely secure it. ___ Follow Ed White at
