Authorities: Student Kills 3, Wounds 8 in Shooting at Michigan High School
- By Matt Jones
- November 30, 2021
Update: 12/1/21, 9:30 a.m. CT
Authorities say that a 15-year-old sophomore killed three students and wounded eight other people—including a teacher—on Tuesday, Nov. 30, in a shooting at Oxford High School in Oxford Township, Mich.
According to the Associated Press, officers began responding at about 12:55 p.m. local time to a high volume of 911 calls reporting an active shooter incident at the school. Authorities arrested a suspect, took him into custody and recovered a semi-automatic handgun along with multiple clips of ammunition.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said that authorities arrested a student within moments of arriving on the scene. The student put his hands in the air as officers approached, Bouchard said.
“Deputies confronted him, he had the weapon on him, they took him into custody,” said Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe in a news conference. McCabe declined to provide further details about the shooting, the arrest, a potential motive, the names of the victims or the identity of the suspect in the immediate aftermath.
The three students killed have since been identified as Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Madisyn Baldwin, 14. Bouchard said that Myer died in a police car as a deputy was transporting him to a hospital. A teacher who was grazed on the shoulder has left the hospital, but seven students between ages 14 and 17 remained overnight.
After the attack, the school was placed on lockdown, according to news sources. Students sheltered in locked classrooms while officers swept the building. The students were transported to a nearby grocery store for reunification with their parents.
Freshman Isabel Flores, 15, told local media that she and other students heard gunshots and saw a student bleeding from the face. Flores said that she and her friends fled the area through the rear of the school.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said that her office plans to issue charges quickly and that an update would be provided on Wednesday, Dec. 1. Authorities say that they suspect’s parents visited him in custody and advised him not to speak with investigators. Police must obtain permission from a minor’s parents or guardians to speak with him, said McCabe.
Authorities say they have been made aware of social media posts threatening an active shooter situation that circulated before the attack. Bouchard said he and other authorities didn’t know about these posts until afterward. In a news conference, he urged the importance of sending tips directly to authorities.
Oxford Township, Mich., is a community with about 22,000 people that lies about 30 miles north of Detroit, Mich.