संबाददाता
The father of a 15-year-old Michigan school gunman who killed four students has been convicted of manslaughter.
The trial heard that James Crumbley, 47, had ignored his son Ethan’s mental health needs, buying him the handgun he used in the November 2021 attack.
He and his wife – who was convicted on the same charges – now both face a maximum of 15 years in prison.
The case is thought to mark the first time the parents of a mass shooter have been held criminally liable.
The couple are scheduled to be sentenced on 9 April.
The jury deliberated for just over a day after a nearly week-long trial. James Crumbley was in court on Thursday evening for the verdict and appeared to show little reaction as it was read out.
Their son killed fellow students Tate Myre, 16; Hana St Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17, with a semi-automatic handgun at Oxford High School. Seven others were also injured in the shooting.
He is serving a sentence of life in prison without parole.
Steve St Juliana, Hana’s father, said on Thursday evening that the prosecution of the Crumbleys was “just the beginning steps” when it came to dealing with gun violence in the US.
“Our children are dying on a daily basis in mass murders and we do very little about this,” he added.
“We can put people on the Moon, we can build skyscrapers, huge monuments like the Hoover Dam and we can’t keep our kids safe in schools.”
In a statement, attorney Ven Johnson said that James and Jennifer Crumbley played a “causal role” in the deaths of the four students.
“This guilty verdict…won’t bring back the lives of these four students, but it represents one more step towards holding everyone responsible under the law,” Mr Johnson said.
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