Parents of Michigan school shooting suspect charged with four counts of homicide involuntary manslaughter
The suspected Michigan high school shooter never left the building in between his meeting with school officials and when the shooting began, based on video surveillance inside the school, the Oakland County sheriff said Friday.
“We have to believe that he had the weapon either on his person in his backpack or somewhere secreted in that travel rout and because the process never had him leaving the school,” Sheriff Michael Bouchard told CNN New Day’s John Berman.
The sheriff also addressed an Instagram post CNN obtained where the suspect apparently refers to the gun as his.
“Legally that’s not his, he cannot own or possess that weapon outside the house or any kind of process of transporting carrying or using without very few restrictions,” Bouchard said.
Authorities previously said the suspect’s father bought the gun on black Friday.
The suspect is permitted to legally hold and possess a gun in some places, such as a gun range, private property, or within the home, Bouchard said.
“Not outside the house, they can’t legally own it either,” the sheriff said.
As the investigation continues to turn toward how the suspect came into possession of the weapon, the sheriff weighed in on what potential legal jeopardy the parents could be in.
The prosecutor has indicated a potential charging decision could come at any time pertaining the parents without specifying in detail what evidence they have.
“It’s a bit of a challenge obviously neither the parents or the suspect have been speaking with us,” he told Berman.
Authorities are endeavoring to answer questions, including “What process did he come into possession of the weapon that day? Was it given to him was it allowed to be picked up and taken freely at his discretion or was it stolen was it broken into something to be removed?”
When pressed on the school’s actions surrounding the suspect’s “concerning” behavior, the sheriff reiterated, “We would have liked to have been looped into that conversation either in the room or told about it immediately.”
“They may not have certain authorities or they might not have wanted to do certain things but that’s different for us we have a different role, a different process,” Bouchard said.
Meanwhile, authorities are investigating “hundreds and hundreds of threats” that have lead to closures at 60 schools in the wake of the fatal shooting.
None of them have been verified “as anything that ultimately has any credibility” but as the sheriff noted all threats will be investigated thoroughly as “we can’t afford that one out of a hundred.”
