Though three years apart, the Oxford and Georgia mass high school shootings are hauntingly and tragically similar on a number of fronts , particularly on the issue of parental responsibility.
In both massacres, the parents of the gunman were charged, with multiple experts opining that the novel Michigan case paved the way for this latest prosecution in Georgia, where the alleged teenage gunman's father is facing criminal charges for the deaths of four people killed by his son in a shooting rampage this week at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga.
Four people died in the Apalachee High School massacre: two students and two staff members. Nine others were injured.
Four people also died in the 2021 Oxford High School shooting, all of them students. Six more students were injured, plus a teacher.
While there are similar facts and allegations in both mass shootings, there are some key differences that could produce a different outcome in Georgia than the one in Michigan, where two separate juries convicted parents James and Jennifer Crumbley of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year for the deaths of four students — Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17 — killed by their son, Ethan Crumbley. The Crumbleys, who both are serving 10-year prison sentences after being found guilty in separate trials, are appealing, maintaining they had no idea their son was planning to shoot up his school; that they saw no signs of him being mentally ill, and that the gun at issue was secured in an armoire, unloaded, with the bullets in a separate drawer.
Their reasons for appealing may very well be some of the same defenses raised by the Georgia shooting suspect's father, Colin Gray, who is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second- degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children.
Here's how the Oxford and Georgia cases are the same:
- Four lives were lost. Both gunmen are young teens who surrendered to police: The Oxford shooter was 15 at the time of the killings, the Georgia suspect 14.
- The guns used in both massacres were Christmas presents, gifted to the teens by their parents.
- The parents in both shootings are accused of "knowingly allowing" their minor sons to have access to a weapon, though both sets of parents maintain their sons did not have unfettered access to guns.
- Both teenage gunmen allegedly showed signs of having mental health issues and exhibited warning signs that allegedly went ignored by the parents.
- Criminal charges were filed quickly against the parents in both shootings. The Crumbleys were charged three days after the Nov. 30, 2021 mass shooting. Gray was charged one day after the Georgia shooting.
- On the morning before the shootings, both the Georgia and Michigan schools received warnings about the gunmen. In Oxford, those warnings came from teachers. In Georgia, the warning came from the gunman's mother, who said she alerted the school counselor the morning of the shooting that there was an "extreme emergency" and her son needed to be found, the Washington Post reported Saturday.
Given how recent the Georgia case is, more similarities — and differences — to the Oxford case could surface as police learn more about the shooting suspect and his family life, and new details continue to emerge. Within days of the Oxford shooting, prosecutors released numerous personal details about the Crumbleys, portraying them as selfish individuals who had affairs, drank excessively and spent more time on their horse hobby than their son.
No such salacious details have emerged in the Georgia case.
Here's how the Georgia and Oxford cases are different:
- Only one parent has been charged in the Georgia case. In Oxford, both parents were charged.
- The Oxford gunman used a 9mm Sig Sauer pistol in his rampage; Georgia's suspect used an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle.
- The Crumbleys were charged following a manhunt that ended with the couple getting arrested in the middle of the night in a friend's art gallery in Detroit. There was no manhunt for the Georgia father.
- The Crumbleys were summoned to the school on the morning before the shooting over a troubling drawing their son had made on a math worksheet of a gun and the words: "The Thoughts won't stop. Help me." The Crumbleys went back to their jobs after seeing that drawing. Their son returned to class and two hours later, fired his first shot. There was no such immediate red flag in the Georgia case.
- The Oxford shooter had no contact with police before the shooting, nor was he ever suspected or questioned about threatening to shoot up his school. However, the Georgia suspect was investigated and questioned last year by law enforcement about his possible connection to online threats to carry out a school shooting. The boy denied making the threats. His dad was also questioned and told investigators there were hunting guns in his home, but that his son did not have unsupervised access to them.
- In the days leading up to the Oxford shooting, the gunman raised numerous red flags at his school that teachers reported to the office, including that he was seen researching bullets online and watching a video of someone gunning down people. So far, no such details have been reported in the Georgia shooting.
- In the Georgia case, the dad said he bought the gun as a Christmas gift for his son in December 2023 — nine months before the shooting. In the Oxford case, the dad bought the gun for his son during a Black Friday shopping trip, just four days before the shootings.
In the Oxford case, the Crumbleys have maintained that the gun at issue was not really a gift, much like when a parent buys their child a car: The vehicle really belongs to the parents and comes with restrictions. The Crumbleys said the gun was only to be used at a shooting range, with adult supervision. The Crumbleys also maintain they had no idea that their son was planning a school shooting.
The Georgia father may argue the same thing.
In both cases, it is unclear how the teens gained access to the guns that were used in the school shootings.
The Georgia suspect, Colt Gray, is currently locked up on four counts of murder. His father also is being detained.
Oxford school shooter Ethan Crumbley, who was charged as an adult, is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole after previously pleading guilty to murdering four students and injuring seven others, including a teacher. He is appealing his sentence.
Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Are the Oxford and Georgia school shootings that similar? Not really. Here's why.
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