Students describe terrifying scenes during deadly shooting

In a sign language class, freshman Mark Kluska heard someone announce a lockdodwn over the school’s loudspeakers. His teacher shut the door and fixed it with a metal doorstop.

“I started realizing it was real when I began to hear yelling,” Kluska told CNN.

Later, someone outside the room who claimed to be with the sheriff’s office told Kluska and his classmates that all was safe and they could come out, a video the freshman recorded shows.

“We’re not willing to take that risk right now,” the teacher replies.

It’s not clear who the person at the door was. But the teacher quickly signaled students to scramble out a first-floor window into the snow, Kluska said. From there, they raced across a courtyard to another part of the building, where a law enforcement officer herded them to safety.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard confirmed during a news conference Wednesday the suspect never knocked on any doors.

More than 100 calls to 911 were made. About two to three minutes after officers arrived, they found a 15-year-old suspect, later identified as Ethan Crumbley, and took him into custody without incident, Bouchard said.

Crumbley has been charged as an adult with terrorism causing death and four counts of first-degree murder. He was also charged with seven counts of assault with intent to murder and 12 counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen D. McDonald said. Crumbley’s lawyer entered a plea of ‘not guilty’ on his client’s behalf at Wednesday’s arraignment.

One of the dead was 14 years old

Justin died Wednesday morning at a hospital; the others died Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said. Tate died in a patrol car while a deputy was taking him to a hospital, Bouchard said.

Seven others — six students and a teacher — were shot, Bouchard said.

Among the wounded were a 14-year-old girl who was on a ventilator following surgery, Bouchard said Tuesday night. A 14-year-old boy had a gunshot wound to the jaw and head, while the teacher who was shot had been discharged.

Parents could face charges

The suspect was being held at a juvenile detention facility. Bouchard said Wednesday authorities are asking a judge to transfer him from the detention facility to the Oakland County Jail.

Charges of first-degree murder require allegations of premeditation, and evidence in this case indicates the shooting was planned “well before the incident,” McDonald said.

This shooting was “absolutely premeditated,” McDonald told reporters, without elaborating.

McDonald’s office will consider charges against the suspect’s parents, she said.

The weapon authorities said was used in the shooting, a 9mm Sig Sauer SP2022 semiautomatic pistol, was purchased by Crumbley’s father on Friday, four days before shots rang out at the school, Bouchard said.

Authorities are considering charges against both parents, with McDonald saying a decision would be made on that “swiftly.” The potential charges stem from the parents owning a gun. McDonald said that means securing it properly, ensuring ammunition is kept separate, among other legal responsibilities.

“We have to hold individuals accountable who don’t do that,” she said.

Suspect and his parents met with school officials hours before shooting

Bouchard said the 15-year-old had not been on law enforcement radar prior to the shooting.

However, authorities did learn after the shooting that the suspect and his parents met with school officials a few hours before the shooting. Officials met with just the suspect the day before and with the suspect and parents the day of the shooting, Bouchard said.

“The day before, it was a meeting with school personnel about some concerning behavior and the meeting the day of was with school personnel and parents about a different issue,” Bouchard said.

The sheriff declined to go into issues on either day.

“Prior to those two meetings there was no contact or nothing in his file by either concerning behavior or discipline,” he said.

Video shows assailant ‘was shooting people at close range,’ sheriff says

Investigators recovered more than 30 shell casings, said the sheriff, who’d earlier said at least a dozen rounds were fired.

“We believe he fired at least 30 shots,” he said.

Bouchard said two 15-round magazines were recovered by investigators and a third was recovered in the overnight hours. Investigators also learned the suspect had 18 rounds left, with seven in his pocket.

“With this much ammunition still with him … the quick actions of the school and the lockdown as well as the deputies going to the danger, saved lives,” Bouchard said.

Video from the school shows the assailant was “shooting people at close range — oftentimes toward the head or chest,” Bouchard told CNN’s “New Day” earlier Wednesday.

“It’s chilling. It’s absolutely cold-hearted, murderous,” Bouchard said.

Though much of the shooting was at close range, it nevertheless appeared “random,” Bouchard told CNN, without elaborating.

The assailant “tried to breach classroom doors,” the sheriff said.

“He actually fired through a number of the doors that I looked at last night — through the barricaded doors. … Some of those barricades were struck by gunfire,” Bouchard said.

Bouchard praised the work of his deputies and other local law enforcement agencies that responded Tuesday, saying their coordination and active shooter training proved invaluable.

Deputies were dispatched to the school at 12:52 p.m., and the suspect was in custody within three minutes of their arrival, Bouchard said.

As deputies made their way through the school, they encountered the suspect, who then put his hands up, Bouchard said. Deputies took the gun and placed the suspect in custody.

“I believe they literally saved lives, having taken down the suspect with a loaded firearm still in the building,” the sheriff said.

‘We believe we have some writings that contain his thoughts’

As for the investigation into a motive: “We believe we have some writings that contain some of his thoughts,” Bouchard said, adding he didn’t immediately know whether the writings reveal intent.

Investigators executed a search warrant at the suspect’s home and have searched the school, he said. Authorities seized a phone and are examining other seized items.

Michigan law prevents police from talking to a juvenile without parental permission, and the parents have refused that permission and requested a lawyer, Bouchard said.

“So, we can’t get the motive from the suspect that we have in custody, but we think we’ve got a path to get a lot of supportive information as to how and why this occurred. We’ve recovered some evidence that we’re now beginning to pore over,” Bouchard said.

Authorities also are investigating pictures of a target and the weapon posted on social media by the suspect, he added.

‘I’m going to text my family, say I love them’

“This district has been very good in training their personnel and their students on active shooters,” Undersheriff Michael McCabe said.

Kluska’s teacher, Moises Cortez, jumped into action after a lockdown was announced over the school’s loudspeakers, said the student who recorded video of his classmates escaping through a window.

“He shut the door and put, like, a metal doorstopper so no one would be able to kick in the door.” Kluska told CNN. “After he turned off the lights, he told us to get to the corner because this might not be a drill and he wants to be safe.”

People were injured as they rushed out of the school, Bouchard said. Most were treated and released at a nearby staging area.

Donna Sanders’ youngest grandchild was changing classes when he heard gunshots, she told CNN. He and others ran through an exit door and went to a nearby grocery store to escape, he told her.

“He was able to run to safety with others while his brother was trapped inside,” Sanders said.

Sanders’ daughter, Vontysha Pittman, said her oldest son sought safety in a classroom with a teacher and other students. He hid under a desk and called his father to tell him what was happening, she said.

“They are both are safe at home, but they are broken. We need prayers and not just for us but all the families at Oxford,” Sanders said.

Page’s classroom was in lockdown for an hour, the senior told CNN. The entire experience as “insane” as he contemplated whether he would live through the ordeal.

“The very first thing in my head was, ‘Is this actually happening? I’m going to text my family, say I love them just in case, if I were to die.’ Then when everything calmed down for a second, I was able to catch my breath and rationalize things,” he said.