On Tuesday, Nov. 30, a shooting took place at Oxford High School in Oxford Township, Michigan, about 45 miles north of Detroit, leaving three students dead and eight others injured. The suspected shooter — 15-year-old sophomore, Ethan Crumbley — was taken into custody and is now being housed at Children’s Village in Pontiac, Michigan while the investigation continues.

Authorities received a flood of over 100 911 calls just before 1 p.m. about the presence of an active shooter at the high school. The shooter fired around 15 to 20 shots within the five minutes that the deputies took to respond and take the suspect into custody; ambulances and SWAT teams also responded. Students were evacuated and taken to the nearby Meijer grocery store or reunited with their parents. 

Among the victims are 14-year-old Hanna St. Julian, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin and 16-year-old Tate Myre. Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe has confirmed that a teacher was among the eight wounded at the scene. Two of the injured had been in surgery and the other six are currently stable but facing multiple gunshot wounds.

The COVID-19 pandemic seemed to have interrupted the exponential rate of school shootings for the first time in a decade; yet, there have been at least 28 school shootings in 2021 alone. The Oxford High School shooting marks the 651st incident of gun violence this year where at least four people were fatally or non-fatally shot.

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office has released a search warrant regarding the suspect’s home and his parents have informed officials that he is not to speak to the police and that an attorney will represent him. Police have yet to discover a motive for this tragic incident, but the sheriff’s office is continuing their investigation in search of answers.