Status: 05.12.2021 00:31 a.m
After a 15-year-old shot four classmates in Michigan, his parents reject the allegations once morest them. They are accused of negligent homicide because they apparently bought the gun for him.
After the fatal shooting at a school in the US state of Michigan, the judiciary is also taking action once morest the parents of the alleged 15-year-old shooter. They are charged with involuntary manslaughter. However, both have denied the allegations.
Prosecutors have charged parents James and Jennifer C. with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, each of which faces up to 15 years in prison. The son opened fire at school in Oxford, north of the metropolis, on Tuesday, killing four classmates between the ages of 14 and 17. Seven other people were injured.
Gun probably bought as a “Christmas present” for son
The prosecutor’s reasoning: the parents had bought the semi-automatic pistol with which the youth is said to have committed the attack and they had allowed their son access to the weapon. The mother is said to have described the pistol as a “Christmas present” for the 15-year-old on online platforms.
Prosecutor Karen McDonald said it is very rare to bring charges once morest the parents of a perpetrator of such an act of violence in schools. But in this case the facts are “outrageous”.
During the hearing of the couple in court, the judge set bail for the mother and father of the equivalent of 440,000 euros. She spoke of “very, very serious” allegations and also justified the sum with the fact that there was a risk of flight.
The suspected shooter faces life imprisonment
The alleged shooter had been arrested without resistance following his crime. He is accused of four counts of murder and terrorism. The teenager is to be tried under adult criminal law. He faces life imprisonment.
According to the police, the 15-year-old had recorded a video on his cell phone the night before the attack, in which he announced the attack for the next day. The next morning he was summoned to a meeting with his parents by the school administration because drawings depicting violent fantasies had been discovered on his desk.
However, the parents refused to take their son home. The 15-year-old then returned to class. Later, in the school restroom, he took out the pistol he had hidden in his backpack and opened fire.
Parents apparently wanted to flee
After the school shooting and their son’s arrest, James and Jennifer C. apparently fled. They were arrested Friday night at an industrial building in Detroit. According to a report by CNN, they had withdrawn the equivalent of more than 3,500 euros from an ATM on Friday and turned off their cell phones.
According to their lawyers, the couple wanted to leave town for their own safety.
Fatal incidents continue to occur in the United States because school shooters open fire. Gun laws in the United States vary by state, but firearms such as pistols and assault rifles are usually relatively easy to obtain. Stricter gun laws usually fail because of the Republicans in Congress and the powerful gun lobby.
