Shootings in the United States: for the first time parents convicted for the actions of their children

The father of a 15-year-old boy who killed four students at a school in Michigan, US, has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

The process heard it James Crumbley, 47 years oldhad ignored the mental health needs of his son Ethan and he bought the gun which he used in the attack November 2021.

He and his wife, convicted of the same charges, now face a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment.

It is believed that this case marks the first time than the parents of a mass shooter They are considered criminally responsible.

James Crumbley was tried for his role in the massacre committed by his son Ethan Crumbley, 15 years old at the time, in a high school in Michigan (northern United States).

James, who heard the result through headphones because of a hearing problem, slowly shook his head from side to side as the jury foreman declared “guilty.” The sheriff’s deputy removed the tie from his neck, shackled him around the waist and took him back to jail.

The mother awaits the reading of the sentence on April 9.

Family members of some of the fallen students cried silently and held hands in the second row of the classroom.

Later, at a news conference, County Attorney Karen McDonald stood beside them and praised their “unwavering courage” through extraordinary tragedy and pain.

“This sentence does not return his childrenbut it marks a moment of responsibility and will hopefully be another step forward in addressing and ending gun violence,” McDonald said.

A 9mm caliber pistol, a Christmas present

The woman testified during the trial that James Crumbley He bought a 9mm SIG Sauer pistol for his son Ethan AS Christmas gift expected, shortly before the attack, and that The next day she herself took the young man to the shooting range.

Ethan Crumbley was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison in December. He pleaded guilty in October 2022 to carrying the weapon 50 bullets in his backpack to his high school and shoot other students.

killed two girls and two boys between 14 and 17 years old years and injured six other students and a teacher.

When James Crumbley heard about the shooting, he ran home from his job at DoorDash and looked for the gun.

“I think my son took the gun,” she said a frantic call to 911.

Investigators found an empty gun box and an empty ammunition box on the parents’ bed. A cable that could have blocked the gun was still in the packagenot opened.

In the United States, pressure to punish parents is growing given the number of gun deaths involving minors.