OXFORD, Mich. (WXYZ) — Families of Oxford High School shooting victims are reacting to the new independent investigation that was released on Monday night.
The 572-page report answers what district officials may have known about the shooter before he killed four students and wounded seven others on Nov. 30, 2021.
Families are expressing a deep level of disappointment in the events that led to the deadly shooting. They're also praising the report for bringing answers.
“You know what happened. You saw it. You were told, 'no, they did the best they could,' but clearly they didn’t," Jarrod Watson, whose son was shot, said. "They directly call them on the carpet for their impact and lack of action and empathy.”
The report finds blame among a range of administrators, saying they failed to properly plan to handle threats and carry out policies to avoid tragedies.
An analysis found multi-level failures to stop the attack.
“What upsets me most, is now we’re putting all these things in place after the death of my daughter and three others," Nicole Beausoleil, the mother of Madisyn Baldwin, said.
“This shouldn’t have went this way. My daughter should have been here still," she added.
Wolf Mueller, an attorney, said it was a preventable tragedy.
"What is going to prevent it in the future is to objectively look at what happened and get to the root cause of it," he said.
Furthermore, third-party investigators say responsibility was often shifted and denied by some staff refusing to take part in interviews.
Among those blamed for the lack of action is the former superintendent, a principal, the dean of students and other counselors.
“They have to check if he has weapons that can hurt them. Check to see if there’s a weapon in the bag," attorney Todd Flood said.
The report also said former Superintendent Tom Throne did not create threat assessment guidelines, failed to notify other administrators of a threat assessment form, and failed to structure his cabinet to make clear who was responsible for assessments.
“We want an apology and deserve an apology. Especially victims' families. What they’ve been put through. Our kids deserved so much better and the fact that it’s radio silence from the district today still is insult on top of injury," Andrea Jones, a parent, said.
Oxford schools has released a statement in response. It reads in part:
“We are beginning the process of carefully studying this report and will share our response once it has been thoroughly reviewed. The following criteria will guide our response:
We are dedicated to excellence in all that we do.
We will continue to respond with empathy and compassion for every person impacted by the tragedy.
As a learning organization, we are committed to making decisions that ensure the well-being of every student and staff member within our district.”
Families tell us they plan to spend the next couple days reading hundreds of pages of the report in greater detail, after having waited
