Oxford High School officials who met with Ethan Crumbley on day of tragedy placed on leave, lawyer says
Attorney Ven Johnson critcized the Oxford, Michigan, school district following reports that officials were placed on leave after the November 2021 shooting
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Attorney Ven Johnson on Friday announced that two Oxford High School employees were placed on administrative leave for more than a month following the Nov. 30, 2021, 2021 Oxford High School shooting in Michigan, which left four students dead and seven others injured.
The announcement comes after The Detroit News reported that Dean of Students Nicholas Ejak and school counselor Shawn Hopkins — both of whom are named in Johnson's lawsuit against Oxford Community School District (OCSD) members — were placed on non-disciplinary administrative leave a week after the shooting.
"Oxford Community Schools has yet again covered up its role in the Oxford High School mass shooting tragedy. Today, we have found out for the first time, that two of its high school employees, Nicholas Ejak and Shawn Hopkins, both of whom are named in our civil lawsuit, were immediately placed on paid ‘administrative leave’ for more than one month following the shooting," Johnson said in a Thursday statement.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He added that the "non-disciplinary" action "is yet another example of the overwhelming evidence which proves the school district has no interest whatsoever in determining the mistakes it made that left four students dead, seven injured and hundreds traumatized.
Parents walk away with their kids from the Meijer's parking lot in Oxford where many students gathered following an active shooter situation at Oxford High School in Oxford on November 30, 2021. (Eric Seals-USA TODAY NETWORK)
Tim Mullins, attorney for the school district, said in a statement to Fox News Digital that Ejak and Hopkins "are still employed by the School District."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Following this summer’s break, Shawn Hopkins will be working at Oxford Bridges High School. Nick Ejak will be working at Oxford Crossroads Day School," Mullins said.
Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald revealed in December that the school officials, including Ejak and Hopkins, met with the then-15-year-old school shooting suspect Ethan Crumbley and his parents to discuss violent drawings he created just hours before the deadly rampage. The suspect was able to convince them during the meeting that the concerning drawings were for a "video game." His parents allegedly "flatly refused" to take their son home, McDonald said at the time.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ejak and Hopkins apparently reviewed the drawings that one of Crumbley's teachers sent directly to their phones after she saw them in class. That teacher also allegedly alerted Hopkins that Crumbley was looking up "violent videos" on his phone, one of Johnson's lawsuits states.
Crumbley "knew that he would be questioned, so he doctored the drawing and wrote, ‘Video game this is,’ ‘I love my life so much!!!!,' ‘OHS rocks!,’ ‘We are all friends here,’ and ‘Harmless act,’" the lawsuit alleges.
"At some point thereafter, Ejak went to Hopkins office and informed him about the drawing, which Hopkins had not seen at that point. Following this, Hopkins went to [Crumbley's] classroom to get him out of the classroom and have a meeting with him," the lawsuit states. It further alleges that Ejak had Crumbely's backpack containing a handgun and 48 rounds of ammunition in his possession before the shooting occurred.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Crumbley's parents were called into the school the morning of the shooting, where they met with their son and school officials. After they refused to take their son home, he returned to class and allegedly began opening fire shortly thereafter, according to the lawsuit.
Johnson has filed two civil lawsuits on behalf of six students and families victimized by the shooting, accusing Crumbley; his parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley; and school staff of negligence. A judge recently ordered the release of materials, including surveillance footage from the shooting, in Johnson's case.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ethan Robert Crumbley, 15, charged with first-degree murder in a high school shooting, poses in a jail booking photograph taken at the Oakland County Jail in Pontiac, Michigan. (Oakland County Sheriff)
The shooting has resulted in several complaints, including two that seek $100 million in damages each, against the school district and school employees on behalf of the family of two sisters who attend the school.
One such lawsuit that attorneys Matthew Turner and Lisa Esser of Sommers Schwartz, P.C., filed in June on behalf of the parents of a 14-year-old victim who was shot in the face and injured states that the OCSD "and its officials have repeatedly told the Oxford community that [Ejak] and [Hopkins] had no choice but to send the shooter back to class because their school policy was such that unless there was a disciplinary issue they could neither send a student home nor detain them in the counseling office."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The four deceased victims of the November 2021 shooting are 16-year-old Tate Myre, 16-year-old Justin Shilling, 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana and 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin.
Ethan Crumbley is charged with first-degree murder, and his parents are charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly making a firearm accessible to their son.
Fox News' Adam Sabes contributed to this report.