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The Michigan Supreme Court refused to dismiss involuntary manslaughter charges against James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of the shooter who killed four students at Oxford High School in 2021, meaning they must now stand trial for their alleged roles in the attack. The Crumbleys, who have fought the charges for two years, appear to be the first parents in America to be charged in a mass school shooting. [Detroit Free Press]
From Our Team
With the country on track for another record year of mass shooting events, more and more Americans are confronting the extensive and lasting effects of gun violence. According to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines mass shootings as four or people shot or killed (excluding the shooter), more than 15 million people have had a mass shooting in their immediate neighborhood in the past decade.
The Gun Violence Archive began tracking mass shootings shortly after the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012. Now, with a first-of-its-kind analysis of 10 complete years of the archive’s data, The Trace uncovers new insights into where mass shootings take place, who is most vulnerable to them, and how frequently they’re occurring. Jennifer Mascia and Chip Brownlee have the exclusive.
What to Know Today
ICYMI: The first two episodes of The Gun Machine, a new podcast from WBUR and The Trace, dropped yesterday. Hosted by Trace staff writer Alain Stephens, The Gun Machine looks into the past to bring you a story that most Americans never learned in history class — about the firearms industry’s grip on our country. Listen and download →
Five people were wounded in a shooting during homecoming festivities at Morgan State University in Baltimore on Tuesday, marking the third straight year that the university’s homecoming week has been marred by gun violence. Homecoming has a special meaning for the historically Black university’s students and alumni, with many likening it to a family reunion. [The Baltimore Banner/CBS Baltimore]
Tennessee state Representative Justin Jones filed a federal lawsuit against several members of the state House, including the speaker, alleging that GOP efforts to expel the Nashville Democrat from the chamber last spring were unconstitutional. Republicans expelled Jones and state Representative Justin Pearson, both of whom were quickly reappointed, for participating in an anti-gun violence demonstration on the House floor days after the deadly shooting at the Covenant School. [Nashville Tennessean]
Teachers in Oakland, California, endure chronic understaffing, heavy workloads, and gun violence on campus. They’re exhausted — and now, they’re calling for the school district to prioritize educators’ well-being. [The Oaklandside]
Indianapolis Police officers are shooting people with a frequency not seen in years: In the first nine months of 2023, officers shot twice as many people as in all of 2022; officers have killed people at a level not seen since 2016. Police shootings in Indianapolis are outpacing cities with similar population sizes like San Francisco and Milwaukee. [Indianapolis Star]
Peter Ambler, the executive director of the gun violence prevention group Giffords, announced that he is stepping down from his role after 10 years with the organization. Ambler worked for former U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords, for whom the organization is named, when she was shot in the head in 2011. [Politico]
Over the past decade and a half, attorneys for law enforcement officers have increasingly used “excited delirium,” a largely discredited, 40-year-old diagnostic theory, as a legal defense to explain why a person experiencing agitation can die suddenly in custody through no fault of the police. Now, the American College of Emergency Physicians is considering whether to formally revoke its support of the theory as a diagnosis. [KFF Health News] Context: In 2020, Daniel Prude died after he was brutally detained by police in Rochester, New York. His autopsy report listed “excited delirium” as a contributing factor in his death.
Archive
What It’s Like for Teachers When Their Students Get Shot: “Gun violence was a constant umbrella hanging over my students’ lives and our classroom,” one wrote. (March 2016)
