Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Can any parallels be drawn between the trial of Jennifer Crumbley in Michigan and the Tops shooter case in Buffalo?
Crumbley is the first parent charged with her child's deadly school shooting.
She is charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the Nov. 30, 2021 deaths of four Oxford High School students.
She could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison, if convicted, in what is the first case of a school shooter's parents to face charges.
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"It's an interesting parallel and I think it's a normal reaction for people to
see if there should be some blame laid at the feet of parents of the Tops Market shooting," said Buffalo attorney Terry Connors on WBEN Tuesday.
In the Tops shooting, Gendron is the only person criminally liable for the racist mass shooting that resulted in the deaths of 10 black people. Three others survived the attack.
Connors insisted, you have to look at the facts.
"In the Crumbley case," he said "the parents were aware of the distressed mental state of their son and there was an effort to get him assistance, but they declined. Also, the parents were brought to school the same day of the shooting. They were offered counseling and they declined. But the most significant fact in the case against the Crumbley parents is that they purchased the gun for their son's use." That's why, Connors said, the case is being prosecuted to the fullest.
The Gendron parents were looked at according to Connors. Adding, federal and state prosecutors interviewed Paul and Pamela Gendron. "I'm assuming that what occurred is that there were no facts to show that [the shooting] was foreseeable to the parents, or that there was any misconduct on their part."
But Connors said the Gendron's are named in a civil lawsuit.
"The standard in a civil lawsuit is to show negligence, or deviation from the standard of care. It's far less than what you need to show in a criminal case. Their conduct will be examined in the civil case. They'll be deposed and questions will be taken under oath and it will determine what role, if any they played. If they were negligent, they could have some responsibility for the horrible, horrible massacre that occurred.
Any penalty from a civil suit would be for financial damages only.
In the case of the Tops shooter, did the parents know that their son had guns?
"So far, from our investigation, there was some knowledge that he had access to guns. But the question becomes, did they have knowledge of all of the things that he was collecting? Body armor, ballistic protection for himself, his online diary on the chat platform Discord. Connors said all of that information will be developed in the civil case including when he acquired the guns, how many he had. All of those things will be developed," he added.