20 students file federal lawsuit against Michigan school following shooting News
Adrienne of Oxford, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
20 students file federal lawsuit against Michigan school following shooting

A group of 20 students Friday announced that they had filed a federal lawsuit against Oxford High School in Oakland County, Michigan. The students are seeking for school policy to be changed after a shooting there in 2021.

The lawsuit has been filed by the students in response to the school’s denial to allow an independent investigation into the mass shooting that killed four students and seriously injured seven other people. In a press conference, the group stated that it is not seeking monetary compensation and wants the district to make some policy changes.

Attorney Scott Weidenfeller, who is representing the students, said, “The new school year is about 10 weeks away, and so these families have children that are going back to the school. And so, this lawsuit really seeks to force change by federal court order.”

The district and the school are accused of failing to inform parents and students about the potential risk that unfolded the day of the shooting. They are further accused of failing to “adequately protect” the students at multiple stages before the shooting occurred.

The complaint alleges that the school and district were aware of the threat that Ethan Crumbley, the shooter, posed to the students and teachers. The complaint also alleges that there were many occasions and instances where there was concern for safety and the school did not notify the proper authorities.

Since the shooting, the school has rejected three offers from the state attorney general to review the events that led to the shooting.

Andrea Jones, who is a parent of a student, said, “The trust had been shattered and it was their duty to restore it. […] We continue to wait for answers and get the policies in place that we desperately need so that another tragic event does not play our community. We need answers to be able to fix what went wrong.”

Other lawsuits against the school and school district are pending.