The Dean of Students and an Advisor at Oxford High School in Michigan named in a lawsuit against the school district, have been placed on furlough following the tragic shooting that killed four students in November.
The staff – Dean of Students Nicholas Ejak and Counselor Shawn Hopkins – have both since left the school but will continue to work in the Oxford School District.
An attorney leading the lawsuit, Ven Johnson, called these actions an attempt to cover up his responsibility for not stopping the shooting.
“Oxford Community Schools have once again covered up their role in the tragedy of the mass shooting at Oxford High School. Today we found out for the first time that two of their high school employees, Nicholas Ejak and Shawn Hopkins, both named in our civil lawsuit, were immediately placed on paid “administrative leave” for more than a month after the shooting,” Johnson said in one Explanation.
The suspensions are “another example of the overwhelming evidence that shows the school district has no interest in investigating the mistakes it made that left four students dead, seven injured and hundreds traumatized,” he added.
Counselor Shawn Hopkins (pictured, left) and Oxford High School Dean Nicholas Ejak (pictured, right) were reportedly suspended after the school’s brutal shooting in November, but are staying on, according to a lawsuit filed with the district
Ejak and Hopkins both met with then-15-year-old Ethan Crumbley and his parents to discuss the disturbing drawings he made just hours before his killing spree, according to county prosecutors
Crumbley killed four students and injured seven others at Oxford High School on November 30
Ejak and Hopkins both met with then-15-year-old Ethan Crumbley and his parents to discuss the disturbing drawings he made just hours before his killing spree, according to county prosecutors.
Crumbley allegedly convinced her the drawings were for a video game and his parents refused to take him home, Karen McDonald said after the shooting.
The lawsuit against the county also alleges that Ejak had Crumbley’s backpack with a handgun and 48 rounds of ammunition in his possession.
A county official said FoxNews that Hopkins and Ejak will both be transferred to another school this fall, but are both “still employed by the school district.”
The lawsuit, filed by Johnson in civil court on behalf of six of the students and their families, alleges negligence by Crumbley’s parents, James and Jennifer. School staff, including Ejak and Hopkins, are accused of the same.
They say killer Ethan Crumbley “exhibited behavior indicative of psychiatric distress, suicidal or homicidal tendencies, and the possibility of child abuse and neglect.”
Crumbley was said to have been seen by a teacher looking at ammunition online and was said to have been seen by other students with shell casings and live ammunition the day before the shooting.
He also brought a severed bird’s head to the high school and placed it in the boy’s bathroom.
While this behavior has been reported by students, school administrators, including the principal and district administrators, allegedly withheld the information from staff and parents, the filing shows.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer hugs Oakland County Chief Executive Dave Coulter as the two leave flowers and pay their respects at Oxford High School on December 2, 2021 in Oxford, Michigan. The school is now being sued by the families of the victims
‘Senior Speaker’ Kylie Ossege, who was shot and wounded by Crumbley and is now suing the school, speaks to seniors at Oxford High School’s graduation May 19 at the Pine Knob Music Theater in Independence Township, Michigan
They say this inaction violated children’s constitutional rights to safety at school.
Tate Myre, 16, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Hana St. Juliana, 14, and Justin Shilling, 17, died in the tragic shooting.
Kylie Ossege, 17, sustained a shoulder injury in the shooting but survived and is now suing the district and governing bodies for gross negligence and violating Michigan’s Child Protection Act.
Attorney Wolf Mueller said: “After reviewing the documents and testimonies in the preliminary examination of Crumbley’s parents, it is clear that the school administration failed the students at Oxford High School.”
He added that administrators’ inaction made the tragedy “predictable and preventable.”
The lawsuit states that school administrators emailed Nov. 12 after reviewing the threats and said there was no “threat to our building or our students,” and principal Wolf said it was “merely.” exaggerated rumours”.
A teacher, Pam Parker Fine, is accused of breaking the law by failing to contact child protection services in response to evidence that Crumbley was searching for ammunition and that Crumbley’s parents had not answered her call.
The law requires teachers to contact the high school liaison officer with the police when evidence of child neglect, child abuse, and endangerment of others is presented.
The lawsuit states that killer Ethan Crumbley “experienced behavior suggestive of psychiatric distress, suicidal or homicidal tendencies, and the possibility of child abuse and neglect.”
Jacqueline Kubina, a teacher who also caught Crumbley looking up ammo in class, is also accused of breaking the same law.
After the teacher allegedly found Crumbley’s drawings of people with gunshot wounds, the lawsuit alleges that Ejak, the student dean, and Hopkins, a college advisor, failed to search his backpack despite having reasons to do so.
The drawings reportedly bore the caption, “Thoughts won’t stop. Help me.’
The shooting came after a meeting between Ejak and Hopkins and the Crumbley family, where the shooter’s parents refused to take their child home, and the lawsuit says the meeting was “deliberately” held without a security liaison officer present in order to to search Crumbley’s person.
The lawsuit called the defendants’ actions “reckless” and put the victims’ lives at “a significant risk of serious and immediate harm.”
She goes on to claim that it was “predictable.” [Crumbley] would commit such acts of violence.
Ven Johnson, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said: “While this new lawsuit will not resolve the pain and suffering of these families, it will certainly hold the school district and its officials accountable for their role in improperly supervising and training teachers and counselors.” , who are obliged to ensure the safety of the students.’
“With the alarming number of red flags and desperate cries for help, all of which Ethan’s parents, teachers, counselors and administrators somehow missed, this mass shooting could and should have been prevented.”
Ethan Crumbley, now 16, was charged as an adult with four counts of first-degree murder in the November 2021 massacre of his fellow Oxford High students.
Justin Shilling and Tate Myre’s families have filed the lawsuit
Madisyn Baldwin, 17, (left) and Hana St. Juliana, 14, (right) died in shootings at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit
His parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, have been charged with involuntary manslaughter after it was revealed they bought the gun for their troubled son, who spent hours researching mass shootings and asking his parents for help before turning the gun on used at his school. The judge said they failed to exercise “ordinary care and diligence” as parents.
Ethan is called as a witness in the trial against his parents, as it became known at the end of June.
Last month a judge refused to reduce their bail, insisting they posed a risk of escape.
