Status: 05.12.2021 12:31 a.m.
After a 15-year-old shot dead four classmates in Michigan, his parents denied allegations against them. They are accused of negligent homicide because they apparently bought the gun for their son.
After the fatal shots at a school in the US state of Michigan, the judiciary is also taking action against the parents of the alleged 15-year-old shooter. They are accused of negligent homicide. However, both have denied the allegations.
The prosecution accuses parents James and Jennifer C. of negligent homicide in four cases, each of which faces up to 15 years in prison. The son opened fire at the school in Oxford, north of the metropolis, on Tuesday and killed four classmates between the ages of 14 and 17. Seven other people were injured.
Gun probably bought as a “Christmas present” for son
The reason given by the public prosecutor’s office: the parents bought the semi-automatic pistol with which the young person allegedly carried out the attack, and they gave their son access to the weapon. The mother is said to have described the pistol on online platforms as a “Christmas present” for the 15-year-old.
Charges against the parents of a perpetrator of such violence in schools are very rare, said prosecutor Karen McDonald. But in this case the facts are “egregious”.
At the hearing of the couple in court, the judge set a bail of 440,000 euros each for the mother and father. She spoke of “very, very serious” allegations and justified the sum with the fact that there was a risk of flight.
Suspected shooters face life imprisonment
The alleged shooter had allowed himself to be arrested without resistance after his act. He is accused of four murders and is charged with terrorism. According to adult criminal law, the teenager should be tried. He faces life imprisonment.
According to the police, the 15-year-old had recorded a video on his cell phone the evening before the crime, in which he announced the attack for the next day. The next morning the school administration asked him to talk to his parents because drawings depicting violent fantasies had been discovered on his desk. However, the parents refused to bring their son home. The 15-year-old then returned to class. Later he took out the pistol he had hidden in his backpack in the school toilet and opened fire.
Parents apparently wanted to flee
After the shooting at the school and the arrest of their son, James and Jennifer C. apparently fled. You were arrested on Friday evening in an industrial building in Detroit. According to a report by the broadcaster CNN, they had withdrawn the equivalent of more than 3500 euros from an ATM and switched off their cell phones on Friday.
According to their lawyers, the couple wanted to leave the city for their own safety.
Fatal incidents continue to occur in the United States because shooters open fire in schools. Gun law in the United States differs from state to state, but firearms such as pistols and assault rifles are usually relatively easy to come by. Stricter gun laws usually fail because of the Republicans in Congress and the powerful gun lobby.