A highschool counselor and dean unknowingly gave an accused gunman a backpack containing the pistol and magazines officers say he used to kill 4 individuals and injure seven in Oxford, Michigan, final yr, a lawyer representing victims’ households mentioned Thursday.
The alternate occurred within the hours earlier than the capturing, throughout a gathering the place the suspect, then 15, had been summoned after a math instructor discovered a notecard on his desk displaying a gun, bullet and a number of other disturbing phrases, together with “blood in every single place” and “the ideas gained’t cease,” lawyer Ven Johnson informed reporters.
Particulars of the alternate got here from depositions supplied by faculty officers after a number of households sued the Oxford Group College District in federal court docket final yr.
The swimsuit, which is searching for $100 million in damages, accused the district of gross negligence and argued that the Nov. 30 capturing was “solely preventable.”
Throughout the assembly with counselor Shawn Hopkins and dean Nicholas Ejak, the coed grew to become “actually nervous” about lacking chemistry class and requested for his homework and backpack, Johnson mentioned.
Hopkins went to retrieve the bag, Johnson mentioned. In accordance with Hopkins’ testimony, Johnson mentioned, the counselor commented on the backpack’s weight after the instructor gave it to him.
After returning to the assembly, Hopkins gave the bag to Ejak, who handed it to the teenager.
“Neither certainly one of them, in response to their testimony, even thought for a second to ask … ‘Hey dude, present us what’s in there,” Johnson mentioned. “We simply need to ensure every thing is cool.”
The suspect’s dad and mom attended the assembly, and Hopkins informed them that in the event that they did not search assist for his or her son inside 48 hours, he would report them to the native baby protecting companies company.
The scholar returned to class round 11 a.m. and is accused of opening hearth simply earlier than 1 p.m., Johnson mentioned.
Johnson mentioned some faculty officers missed different purple flags, together with an incident Nov. 29 the place the suspect’s instructor noticed him photographs of bullets on his telephone.
After the instructor started reviewing his classwork and observed his pursuits “leaned towards the violent aspect,” Johnson mentioned, she reported what she discovered to different faculty officers, together with Hopkins. Johnson mentioned that neither official appeared to have investigated the matter.
In one other incident earlier within the yr, Johnson mentioned, the suspect’s Spanish instructor requested Hopkins to talk along with her scholar due to an autobiographical poem indicating noting that he felt “horrible and that his household is a mistake.”
Hopkins adopted up with the instructor, who mentioned she was now not involved as a result of she believed the coed was speaking about homework, not his life, Johnson mentioned.
A lawyer for Hopkins and Ejak didn’t reply Thursday to a request for remark. In a court docket submitting, attorneys for the college denied allegations within the households’ lawsuit and described a few of them as inaccurate.
The teenager has pleaded not responsible to 2 dozen costs, together with homicide, within the capturing. His dad and mom had been additionally charged with involuntary manslaughter. They’ve additionally pleaded not responsible.
