Oxford School Shooting: What We Know

A gunman opened occurrence astatine Oxford High School successful Michigan connected Tuesday afternoon, shooting 11 people. Four students were killed and respective others were near critically and earnestly injured.

A 15-year-old antheral pupil was aboriginal arrested successful transportation with the shooting and was being held astatine a juvenile jail, the authorities said.

The deadly gunfire successful Oxford, successful Oakland County — astir 30 miles northbound of Detroit — added to a increasing database of shootings connected schoolhouse grounds successful the United States this twelvemonth aft a lull during the coronavirus pandemic, erstwhile galore schools held classes remotely.

The shooting was the deadliest this year, according to Education Week, which tracks specified shootings and reported that determination had been 28 truthful acold successful 2021.

Many details, including the sanction of the fishy and a motive, remained unclear. Here’s what we know.

What happened astatine the school?

At 12:51 p.m. connected Tuesday, the authorities received the archetypal of much than a 100 911 calls astir the shooting.

The fishy emerged from a bath and started firing astatine students successful the hallway, the authorities said connected Wednesday aft viewing information camera footage of the attack.

When students astatine Oxford High School archetypal heard the gunshots, they rushed for screen and utilized chairs to barricade themselves down schoolroom doors. Within 5 minutes, the authorities said, 11 radical had been shot.

The gunman fired 15 to 20 shots with a semiautomatic handgun earlier being apprehended by deputies successful the schoolhouse hallway, the authorities said. Seven bullets remained successful the gun, the region sheriff, Michael Bouchard, said astatine a quality briefing connected Tuesday night.

Michael McCabe, the Oakland County undersheriff, said the suspect, who had been successful people earlier Tuesday, “gave up without immoderate problems.”

Investigators were pouring done galore hours of information camera footage to way the suspect’s actions, Mr. Bouchard told reporters connected Wednesday, but his targets “appeared random.” Investigators had not determined a imaginable motive for the shooting, which Mr. Bouchard described arsenic “absolutely brutally acold hearted.”

Sheriff Bouchard said investigators had been told that the gunman pretended to beryllium an serviceman successful bid to entree barricaded classrooms. “We cognize by witnesses helium was tugging connected doors, and we cognize from carnal grounds helium changeable done doors up and down much than 1 hallway,” the sheriff said connected Wednesday.

Had determination been nary intervention, Sheriff Bouchard said, “we mightiness be, if it’s possible, successful a worse situation.”

What was the aftermath?

After the shooting, students said they fled from the building. Some parents rushed to a adjacent market store to reunite with their children.

Officials crossed the state expressed daze and issued statements of sadness and frustration, arsenic residents of Oakland County announced a vigil and prepared for funerals.

Democratic leaders renewed their calls for much to beryllium done to trim weapon violence.

“No 1 should beryllium acrophobic to spell to school,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan said successful a statement. Later, astatine a quality conference, she added. “I deliberation this is each parent’s worst nightmare.”

What bash we cognize astir the victims?

The authorities connected Tuesday identified those killed as Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; and Tate Myre, 16, who died successful a sheriff’s squad car portion connected the mode to a hospital. A 4th student, Justin Shilling, 17, died connected Wednesday greeting astatine McLaren Oakland Hospital successful Pontiac, Mich.

“There was nary clip to wait,” Sheriff Bouchard said of the lawman who enactment Tate, who had precocious won honors arsenic a linebacker and choky extremity connected his shot team, into his car.

On Tuesday night, much than 25,000 radical had signed a petition online to rename the school’s stadium aft Tate, who had precocious earned an all-region grant from the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association.

Six different injured students ranged successful property from 14 to 17, officials said, including astatine slightest 2 who were successful captious information and different who was successful superior condition. They included a 15-year-old lad who had been changeable successful the head, a 17-year-old miss who had been deed successful the thorax and a 14-year-old miss who had been wounded successful the thorax and neck.

The wounded 14-year-old miss was connected a ventilator Tuesday night. A infirmary spokeswoman said Wednesday greeting that the miss remained successful captious condition, but had nary further updates.

“It’s looking precise pugnacious for this young girl,” Sheriff Bouchard said.

The lone big who was injured, an unidentified 47-year-old teacher whose enarthrosis was grazed by a bullet, had been discharged from the hospital, helium added.

What bash we cognize astir the suspect?

Few details are known astir the arrested student, whom the authorities person described arsenic a 15-year-old sophomore astatine Oxford High School and a nonmigratory of Oxford Village, a suburb with a colonisation of less than 3,500 people.

When the boy’s parents went to a sheriff’s substation aft the shooting, they declined to fto investigators question their child, Undersheriff McCabe said. Officials served a hunt warrant connected Tuesday nighttime astatine his family’s location and investigators were examining the contents of his machine and phone, including societal media posts. The household has hired a lawyer, officials said.

The fishy was being held astatine a juvenile jailhouse Wednesday, awaiting imaginable charges.

“The idiosyncratic that’s got the astir penetration into the motive is not talking,” Sheriff Bouchard said astatine the quality briefing.

He added that the 9-millimeter Sig Sauer handgun utilized successful the shooting had been bought by the suspect’s begetter 4 days earlier. The weapon had 15 circular magazines, helium said, 2 of which had truthful acold been recovered astatine the school.

The authorities said that they did not judge that the pupil had planned the shooting with anyone other and that they were inactive investigating.

Mass shootings astatine schools person been a recurring calamity successful the United States. In 2018, a gunman killed 17 people and injured 17 others astatine Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School successful Parkland, Fla. That aforesaid year, a gunman killed 10 people astatine Santa Fe High School successful Texas.

“This is simply a uniquely American occupation that we request to address,” Ms. Whitmer said connected Tuesday.