OXFORD (WWJ) - A security guard from Oxford High School has been named as an additional defendant after a court filing on Wednesday said she failed to act during November's deadly school shooting.
Ven Johnson Law filed a motion in Oakland County Circuit Court to add school security guard Kimberly Potts in the civil shooting lawsuit after court documents said she casually walked around the school as an active shooter wrecked havoc on staff and students last year.
Alleged shooter Ethan Crumbley, 15, is accused of killing four students; six students and a teacher were also wounded.
WWJ's Ryan Marshall reported the families of victims were allowed to view footage of the shooting from inside the school for the first time on Tuesday which revealed Potts "did not act with a sense of urgency."
According to Johnson, Potts told investigators she believed the shooting was an ALICE drill and was not an active situation. She said she saw Tate Myre bleeding out on the floor and thought he had "really good make-up" on.
Video evidence allegedly shows Potts opening the bathroom door where Justin Shilling, Keegan Gregory and Crumbley were in.
She did not enter.
Shilling was then shot and killed by Crumbley, Johnson said, detailing how Potts "clearly had an opportunity to intervene and prevent Justin’s death."
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Johnson said the surveillance footage showed the extent of negligence on behalf of Potts and she failed to protect Oxford High School students.
Potts is a retired Oakland County Sheriff's deputy with over 20 years experience in law enforcement. With her level of training, Johnson argued she should've acted more swiftly.
Craig Shilling, father of victim Justin Shilling, spoke at a press conference Tuesday.
He conveyed his pain and his frustration that more wasn't done to prevent his son's death, and the deaths of three others, on Nov. 30.
"It's difficult to know that he could still be here," he said of his son. "It's their job and you know, I was in the military with an honorable discharge and I worked for the government and you either do your job or the next guy down the road will suffer bad consequences. It's not that difficult. You get paid to do a job, why wouldn't you do it?"
Oxford Community Schools Superintendent Ken Weaver released a statement Wednesday afternoon, saying “our hearts continue to be with the students, staff, families and community members whose lives were forever changed by the tragedy on November 30, 2021."
"On that day, students and staff acted swiftly in accordance with their prior training and several staff members exhibited heroic courage," the statement said. "Review by security experts confirmed our staff response reduced additional harm and loss of life. We are confident the investigation and third-party review of the events of that day will bring all of the facts to light. Safety continues to be our top priority at Oxford Community Schools. We will not be deterred and will continue our commitment of providing a high-quality education for our students in a safe educational environment as we continue to honor Justin, Madisyn, Hana, and Tate.”
Johnson said it took his legal team eight months to secure the footage from inside the school after fighting with a "very uncooperative" Oxford Community Schools, Marshall reported.
Johnson told WWJ back in June that the school district and general counsel for Oakland County were “sadly” trying to block the release of the video evidence.
Judge Rae Lee Chabot ruled on June 20 that Johnson can have access to the videos to see what happened inside the school the day of the shooting.
Johnson is representing the families of Tate Myre and Justin Shilling.
Crumbley faces a slew of charges, including terrorism and first degree murder.
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