Mental Health Resources are Critical for Survivors of Michigan School Shooting
Quick Summary of the Incident
Fifteen-year-old Ethan Crumbley has been accused of firing more than 30 shots and killing four of his classmates at Oxford High School in Michigan on November 30, 2021. Prosecutors say Crumbley came out of a school bathroom and started shooting as he walked down the hall at a “methodical pace.” During the estimated five minutes from when the shooting started to when Crumbley surrendered, he shot the four students who died and wounded six more students and a teacher. Crumbley will be tried as an adult for charges including murder, assault, and weapon possession, plus a count of terrorism causing death. Addressing the terrorism charge, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said, “We must have an appropriate consequence that speaks for the victims that were not killed or injured but also, they were affected, how do they go back to school?”
What We Know about the Suspect
According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, their investigations have revealed that the suspect had been involved in a meeting over behavior issues the prior day as well as on the day of the shooting. The suspect’s parents were involved in the face-to-face meeting at the school about his classroom behavior three hours before the shooting occurred. The Sheriff’s Office was not made aware of the meeting or of any issue until after the event occurred. Nothing of concern was noted in his school file prior to the first meeting. There are also no documented cases of Crumbley being bullied at school and he had no prior juvenile record.
A search warrant was executed at the suspect’s residence and is being inventoried. The firearm used was a 9mm Sig Sauer and had been purchased by the father, James Crumbley, four days prior to the incident. James and Jennifer Crumbley gave the gun to their son as a Christmas present. During the parent meeting that preceded the shooting, James and Jennifer did not indicate that Ethan had access to a gun, nor did they attempt to locate the gun or check to see if he had it in his possession, according to what the prosecutor told CNN. James and Jennifer Crumbley have each been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Authorities have recovered two videos from Crumbley’s phone that reportedly had been recorded the night before the shooting. In the videos, he talks about killing students the next day at his high school. A journal recovered from his backpack also contains passages stating that he wanted to “shoot up the school.
Mental Health Services Needed
The terrorism charge addresses the emotional harm caused to the survivors of this school shooting. During a press conference on the day after the shooting, Sheriff Michael Bouchard further stressed the need for the mental health consequences of the tragedy to be addressed.
Bouchard stated that counseling and therapist efforts were being coordinated to assist all Oxford community schools and that additional help was being made available through an FBI crisis team. “I would remind and encourage anyone, whether they were there or feel traumatized by the event, it is strength to seek help – not weakness – and that trauma affects people in dramatic and sad ways, and asking people for help, seeking a therapist, counselor or chaplain, is an important step to process such a tragedy.”
Even though school shootings are typically over in less than 10 minutes, they can cause long-term effects for survivors. It may not affect our daily lives at first, but the psychological after effects can eventually creep up on us. Students and staff members may experience denial, shock, and disbelief about what they experienced. In February of 2021, the results of a study examining the “Effects of Mass Shootings on the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents” were published in Current Psychiatry Reports. The study’s authors concluded that one-third of individuals who have witnessed a mass shooting will most likely meet the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Most common PTSD symptoms are flashbacks, nightmares, irritability, negative changes, etc.
In a CNN report, an expert on school violence stated that PTSD resulting from school shootings can result in teachers becoming withdrawn and emotionally unstable. PTSD in younger students can look like lack of interest, aggression, prolonged crying, sleeping problems, etc. PTSD looks different in everyone. It is important if you notice these behaviors, you need to reach out to someone.
Unfortunately, not everyone who experiences these changes in behavior does so. Did you know that, according to the World Health Organization, between 30 and 80 percent of people with mental health issues do not seek treatment? This is why Sheriff Bouchard emphasized the importance of seeking mental health services if needed. It is time that we set aside these stigmas and accept that mental health is as important as our physical health.
