OXFORD, Mich. — The parents of the four students killed in the Oxford High School shooting are demanding a state-led investigation that aims to prevent similar tragedies.
During a press conference Monday, the families called on Michigan lawmakers to mandate and fund an independent investigation into the events leading up to and following the Nov. 30, 2021 incident that claimed the lives of Madisyn Baldwin, Hana St. Juliana, Tate Myre, and Justin Shilling. It is the first time the families have spoken without their attorneys.
“What we’re here today trying to drive is looking at the big picture and how do we fix the broken pieces of the system itself. We know there’s a lot more there,” said Steve St. Juliana, Hana’s father. “The loss of our children was entirely preventable. The truth needs to be exposed so no other families and communities ever have to endure this type of pain. We still have so many questions after three years, and only a full investigation can bring the truth to light so there can be accountability and counter measures put in place. Our kids deserve this, at the very least.”
A 572-page report on the shooting was released last year following an investigation by Guidepost Solutions, a firm hired by Oxford Community Schools. The victims’ families say many people refused to cooperate because the company did not have subpoena power and key questions were subsequently left unanswered, according to WXYZ. The report did that district officials often denied responsibility and shifted blame elsewhere.
“We’re infatuated with pointing the finger at the tool for this violence instead of thinking about why are people feeling this way? Why are people getting to the point where they want to do evil things? We’re not thinking about that part of it — the whole prevention part of it,” said Buck Myre, Tate’s father. “We’re only addressing the gun stuff. We’re not trying to get better systemically. That’s what this investigation will expose.”
The families detailed two demands Monday, the first being a mandate for the Michigan Legislature to enforce and fund threat assessments in the wake of student deaths resulting from safety-related incidents, with penalties for those who fail to comply with investigations. The second demand is the establishment of a state-level task force or commission by the Attorney General, equipped with subpoena powers, to conduct the investigation.
Attorney General, Prosecutor, and Sheriff Speak Out on Oxford Investigation
Local and state officials have said they support a state-led investigation but they can’t seem to agree on who would would be charged with leading it. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said she offered numerous times to help local authorities investigate the shooting but that all her offers were “soundly rejected” by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office and the Oxford school board, Yahoo reports.
“My office has always respected local authority and we never use our jurisdiction to supersede local or county level criminal investigations,” Nessel said. “Once a matter’s being reviewed by local law enforcement, my department will only join in or take the lead in a criminal investigation or prosecution after the local authorities have provided a referral and asked us to.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald responded to her comments, stating the requested investigation must be conducted by Nessel’s office.
“As indicated in my memo to the families, there is a difference between the role of a prosecutor, who is an advocate, and that of the police and other investigators, who gather evidence. My office does not have the authority to conduct the investigation the families have asked for. The Attorney General does. We are not aware of any action needed by my office to activate the Attorney General’s authority, but we will do everything possible to enable such an investigation,” McDonald said. “There is so much we can learn, and we owe it to the students who were killed and those who were injured, their families, the Oxford community, and our children to do everything we can to prevent future shootings. An independent investigation remains a critical, missing piece in that process.”
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said his office is “more than willing” to participate in any state review or investigation.
“I told the victims of this tragedy I would support any effort that would answer all questions they have. If the attorney general would like access to our investigative reports or our people, I will happily provide them,” he said. “Our hope is that this would be a whole of government systemic review which includes mental health, school and public safety entities to see if there are lessons we can learn to prevent such tragedies rather than responding to them.”
