DETROIT (WWJ) – Parents of victims of the Oxford High School shooting are continuing to speak out after a judge decided last week to dismiss all lawsuits against Oxford Community Schools and its employees, citing governmental immunity.
Several parents spoke Tuesday at a press conference with attorney Ven Johnson at his Detroit office, calling the governmental immunity laws "unfair."
Among the parents speaking out was Buck Myre, the father of 16-year-old Tate Myre, one of four students killed in the Nov. 30, 2021 shooting that also wounded seven others.
While the judge ruled Friday shooter Ethan Crumbley was the "one most immediate, efficient and direct cause" of the shooting, Myre said Tuesday governmental immunity is the "only defense" the district has in denying any responsibility.
"They have nothing else. So what they've done – very, very smart, very strategic – they've silenced all their employees. All their puppets have been trained very well in their depositions," Myre said.
Myre argued the school has some culpability, as there were multiple warning signs prior to the shooting, noting Crumbley was "ushered around from person to person. And nobody knew how to deal with it."
"He didn't walk into the school guns a blazin'. He walked out of the counseling office with guns blazin'," Myre said. "Who's the immediate cause? I think you could make an argument that the school is the immediate cause. But we can't make that argument because our government doesn't want to be tested. They don't want to be questioned. They're allowed to do that to us, but we're not allowed to do that to them."
Tuesday's press conference was held the same time as parents James and Jennifer Crumbley appeared before a three-judge Court of Appeals panel for a hearing as to whether their involuntary manslaughter case will go to trial.
Myre was asked whether the Crumbleys should face charges.
"Hell yeah. They bought a gun for their kid, right? And he used it. Murdered our kids," he said. "Think about this. There's all this going on and all this legal talk. Four kids were murdered and everybody gets to throw their hands up in the air. How 'f'ed up' is that? Seriously. How freaking crazy is that? It's amazing to me. Everybody just gets to throw their hands up in the air. 'It's not my problem.' It's crazy."
Myre encouraged others to also speak out against governmental immunity, urging them to write letters to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel.
The Court of Appeals says it will make a decision whether the parents' case will proceed "within the next several weeks," according to WWJ's Jon Hewett.
