(WWJ) — As Jennifer Crumbley's involuntary manslaughter trial in connection with her son's deadly November 2021 shooting at Oxford High School is deliberated by the jury, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson is out with a warning after a threatening letter written by a student was found in the county last week.
Swanson announced last week his office has launched an investigation after the letter, which in part discussed taking another student's life.
Details surrounding the threat remain limited, including at which of the 30-plus public and charter school districts the letter was found and whether the responsible student was identified.
"The details in this letter are not only disturbing, but it shows the mindset of somebody who's a potential danger," Swanson said prior to reading the following excerpt:
"You know exactly who this is. Remember me? Remember the pain you caused me, the abysmal look that you put on me? Do you know where that put me? Hell, I can't have happiness now," a portion of the letter reads, Swanson said in a video posted to the sheriff's office's Facebook page.
"There's no escaping this. I WILL find you and I WILL kill you. To see the pain and the despair as I rip your life from you and your pitiful soul," the letter said.
"Why do I read that? Because this was written by a student in pain. A student that wanted to seek revenge," Swanson said, noting officials with the unidentified school district have been cooperating with police.
The threatening letter is the 18th threat the sheriff's office has investigated since the beginning of the school year last fall, Swanson said.
With the backdrop of the Crumbley trial, Swanson made it a point to note his department takes all threats seriously.
"The reason I bring this to you is because there were things missed in other cases. We've learned that. We learned what happened in Uvalde. It was a complete botch job by the police down there," he said. "We saw the lessons and learned what happened even way back in Columbine. You don't wait. When there's an active shooter, you don't wait for backup, you go."
Swanson made reference to multiple "red flags" that may have been missed in the Oxford case, including evidence that the shooter had kept a journal and made concerning drawings in class, prompting a meeting between his parents and school administrators the morning before four students — Madisyn Baldwin, Justin Shilling, Tate Myre and Hana St. Juliana — were killed and seven others wounded.
In light of the trial, Swanson said he felt it "urgent" to let the community know: "if you see something, say something."
"In fact, if you don't like the answer that you get, up-channel it. If you call and notify somebody and you don't think that they take it serious, you go to their supervisor. I don't care if it's in law enforcement, the school, whatever it is — you have to take action," he said.
Swanson said it doesn't matter what level of school a potential threat comes from or who makes it, his department will investigate it thoroughly.
"It doesn't matter, we do the same thing. We go to the school, we have a team of detectives and law enforcement. We search vehicles, we search lockers, we search backpacks, we search everything we can. We talk to students, then we go to the house," Swanson said.
The sheriff noted investigators are "never" met by resistance from parents or guardians, unless they are not being clear enough about the situation.
"But we take weapons out of the equation. We keep them for safekeeping. It's a joint effort between those loved ones and law enforcement, this office, to make sure this individual, while they're getting the help or being held accountable, that they don't have access to weapons," Swanson said. "We search online presence, we search lockers… We find where there could be these messages that could lead us to something that maybe could've been stopped."
Swanson ended by saying it's important for the community to "take action, stay vigilant, stay alert and when you see something, say something and we'll be there for you to protect our kids."
WATCH SWANSON'S FULL PRESS CONFERENCE:
