School officials unknowingly gave Michigan shooting suspect his backpack with gun and magazines, lawyer says

A highschool counselor and a dean unknowingly gave a taking pictures suspect a backpack containing the pistol and magazines officers say he used to kill 4 folks and injure seven others in Oxford, Michigan, final yr, a lawyer representing victims’ households stated Thursday.

The alternate occurred within the hours earlier than the taking pictures, in a gathering at which the suspect, then 15, had been summoned after a math instructor discovered a notecard on his desk displaying a gun, a bullet and several other disturbing phrases, together with “blood in all places” and “the ideas gained’t cease,” lawyer Ven Johnson instructed reporters.

Particulars of the alternate got here from depositions college officers supplied after a number of households sued the Oxford Group College District in federal court docket final yr.

The go well with, which seeks $100 million in damages, accused the district of gross negligence and argued that the Nov. 30 taking pictures was “completely preventable.”

Throughout the assembly with counselor Shawn Hopkins and dean Nicholas Ejak, the coed turned “actually nervous” about lacking chemistry class and requested for his homework and backpack, Johnson stated.

Hopkins went to retrieve the bag, Johnson stated. Based on Hopkins’ testimony, Johnson stated, the counselor commented on the backpack’s weight after the instructor gave it to him.

After he returned to the assembly, Hopkins gave the bag to Ejak, who handed it to the teenager.

“Neither certainly one of them, based on their testimony, even thought for a second to ask … ‘Hey dude, present us what’s in there,’” Johnson stated. “‘We simply need to make sure that every little thing is cool.’”

Hopkins instructed the suspect’s dad and mom, who attended the assembly, that in the event that they did not search assist for his or her son inside 48 hours, he would report them to the native baby protecting companies company.

The scholar returned to class round 11 a.m. and is accused of opening hearth simply earlier than 1 p.m., Johnson stated.

Johnson stated some college officers missed different purple flags, together with an incident Nov. 29 when the suspect’s instructor noticed him photos of bullets on his telephone.

After the instructor started reviewing his classwork and seen his pursuits “leaned towards the violent aspect,” Johnson stated, she reported what she had discovered to different college officers, together with Hopkins. Johnson stated neither official appeared to have investigated the matter.

In one other incident earlier within the yr, Johnson stated, the suspect’s Spanish instructor requested Hopkins to talk along with her pupil due to an autobiographical poem indicating that he felt “horrible and that his household is a mistake.”

Hopkins adopted up with the instructor, who stated she was not involved as a result of she believed the coed was speaking about homework, not his life, Johnson stated.

A lawyer for Hopkins and Ejak didn’t reply Thursday to a request for remark. In a court docket submitting, attorneys for the varsity denied allegations within the households’ lawsuit and described a few of them as inaccurate.

The teenager has pleaded not responsible to 2 dozen prices, together with homicide. His dad and mom have been additionally charged with involuntary manslaughter and have pleaded not responsible.