This train is never late.
Fourth victim dies after Oxford High School shooting; suspect charged with terrorism, first-degree murder
By Lindsay Kalter, Paulina Firozi, Bryan Pietsch and Annabelle Timsit
Today at 6:56 a.m. EST|Updated today at 2:30 p.m. EST
OXFORD, Mich. — A fourth victim has died after a gunman opened fire on classmates at a Michigan high school, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said. The 17-year-old died Wednesday at McLaren Hospital in Pontiac, Mich.
Authorities are investigating what caused a student to turn a pistol on his peers at the school on Tuesday, leaving a small town to grapple with what has become a routine American tragedy. In addition to the fatalities, several people were wounded.
The four people slain were identified as 17-year-old Justin Shilling, who died Wednesday; 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana; 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin and 16-year-old Tate Myre, who died in a patrol car Tuesday while sheriff’s deputies were taking him to a hospital.
The suspected gunman is a 15-year-old sophomore at Oxford High School who attended class before he began shooting, allegedly firing 15 to 20 shots, officials said.
It remains unclear how he obtained the gun, which police said was purchased by his father on Nov. 26.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said the suspect would be charged, as an adult, with one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder and 12 counts of possession of a firearm. She said additional charges could be added later, and charges against both of his parents are under consideration.
“There are facts leading up in the shooting that suggest this was not just an impulsive act,” McDonald said. “Those facts are not appropriate for discussion right now … Lastly, charging this person as an adult is necessary to achieve justice and protect the public. Any other option would put all of us at risk of this person because they could be released and still a threat.”
McDonald said she could not offer much detail because she did not want to jeopardize the investigation, but said she was confident the acts were planned.
“There is a mountain of digital evidence: videotape, social media, all digital evidence possible,” she said. “We have reviewed it and we are confident we can show it was premeditation.”
The mass shooting appears to be the deadliest episode of on-campus violence in more than 18 months, a period when instruction shifted online during the coronavirus pandemic and school shootings largely dropped out of headlines.
In Oxford, members of the community were reeling from the previous day’s events. Students from the high school recalled the moments as the horror unfolded: screams in the hallway, teachers urging students to move away from doors. Recent alumni expressed concern about friends who were injured — and the shock of seeing their own school’s name at the center of a tragedy.
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The gun taken from the suspect, a 9mm pistol with 15-round magazines, was purchased by the suspect’s father last week, four days before the shooting, according to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.
The suspect, who was booked into a juvenile facility but could be tried as an adult, did not resist when he was arrested and is not cooperating with the investigation, authorities said. About 300 law enforcement and emergency management personnel from two dozen agencies, including the FBI, responded to the scene, the sheriff’s office said.
It is illegal under Michigan laws for someone younger than 18 to possess a gun in public. In schools, it is illegal to carry a concealed gun, and some school districts in the state also ban open carry.
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Max Charltom, who graduated two years ago, said his friend was shot during the attack and is now on life support.
“You never expect this to happen, not in a backwater town like this,” he said. But, he added, the incident has shown what a tightknit community Oxford is. “Everyone is coming together,” he said. “Working together and supporting each other.”
Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe would not say whether the suspect had made threats leading up to the shooting, but he said the possibility is part of the police investigation.
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According to the Giffords Law Center, a gun violence-prevention group that publishes information about gun laws, Michigan ranks 20th in the nation for states with the strongest gun laws.
“Michigan laws are certainly not the weakest in the country, but they could be a lot stronger,” Allison Anderman, the center’s senior counsel, said in an interview Tuesday night.
Anderman noted that school shootings are still exceptionally rare compared with other types of shootings. Yet in most school shootings, the weapon is a firearm left unsecured in the home.
Holly Bailey in Minneapolis and Marisa Iati, Lateshia Beachum, Meryl Kornfield, Hannah Knowles, Laura Meckler, María Luisa Paúl, Reis Thebault and Keith McMillan in Washington contributed to this report.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2 ... n-suspect/