The parents of school shooter Ethan Crumbley are not on the run, the family’s lawyers insist.
After the 15-year-old schoolboy killed four students and injured seven more with his father’s brand-new 9mm gun, James and Jennifer have been slapped with manslaughter charges for failing to keep the weapon secure from their teenage son.
It has since also come to light that the boy was planning the mass shooting just one day before the killings, whereas he was allowed to resume classes even after teachers discovered chilling notes featuring a drawing of a gun and a person being shot and showed them to his parents.
Now, James and Jennifer have been declared fugitives after failing to meet the deadline to turn themselves in. They allegedly also withdrew $4,000 before disappearing.
In the meanwhile, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard confirmed that the parents’ whereabouts remain unknown as he vowed to bring them to justice.
“If they think they’re going to get away, they’re not,” he said as he revealed that US Marshals and the FBI joined the hunt on the Crumbleys.
Though it appears to many that the parents have gone on the run, the Crumbleys’ lawyers, Mariell Lehman and Shannon Smith, insist that they “are not fleeing” and are about to return to face their charges.
“On Thursday night we contacted the Oakland County prosecutor to discuss this matter and to advise her that James and Jennifer Crumbley would be turning themselves in to be arraigned,” the attorneys told DailyMail.com.
“Instead of communicating with us, the prosecutor held a press conference to announce charges.
“The Crumbleys left town on the night of the tragic shooting for their own safety. They are returning to the area to be arraigned. They are not fleeing from law enforcement despite recent comments in media reports.”
Following these claims, local authorities insisted they weren’t made aware of any arrangements involving the return of the Crumbleys to face their charges.
“If they are, it’s news to us,” Undersheriff Mike McCabe said in a statement to ABC News.
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