Gun used in Michigan school shooting purchased by dad on Black Friday, officials say

The gun used in the shooting at a Michigan school was purchased by the suspect’s dad on Black Friday, officials said.

The shooting occurred at Oxford High School in Oakland County around 12:50 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 30. Four students — 17-year-old Justin Shilling, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin, 16-year-old Tate Myre and 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana — were killed and several others were injured, the sheriff’s office said. A 15-year-old sophomore at the school has been taken into custody.

The sheriff’s office announced Wednesday, Dec. 1, that Shilling had died. The other three students “succumbed to their injuries yesterday,” the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said the suspect, who has not been publicly identified because he is a juvenile, used a 9mm Sig Sauer pistol that was purchased by his father on Friday, Nov. 26, four days prior to the shooting.

The gun contained seven rounds of ammunition when deputies took it from the suspect, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a news conference streamed by local news outlets the night of the shooting.

“When they took it from him, he had a loaded firearm and he was coming down the hall,” Bouchard said. “That, again, I believe interrupted what potentially could have been seven more victims.”

The gun had “15 round magazines,” Bouchard said. Deputies have found two of them.

“There allegedly were three that were purchased and he had,” the sheriff said. “The crime scene unit, our forensic lab, is on the scene obviously processing a huge crime scene. More than likely that third magazine will be found there.”

Bouchard said there was not any indication why the father purchased the gun on Nov. 26.

“It’s my understanding that this was a recent weapon purchase, that he had been shooting with it and had posted pictures of a target and the weapon,” he said of the 15-year-old suspect. “That’s all part of what’s been looked at. We’re going to do a deep dive on the social media and all the activities of this young man.”

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He said the suspect has declined to speak and that his parents have hired an attorney.

“So there is no conversation that’s going on and no cooperation at that level,” Bouchard said.

When asked whether the suspect’s parents could face charges, the sheriff said “that will all be up to the prosecutor.”

“Ultimately we’re going to present everything how it played out and whatever applicable thing — I presume they’ll charge,” he said. “We certainly want it charged.”

Numerous agencies are investigating the shooting, the sheriff’s office said. Units were at the school the night of Nov. 30 processing the scene, and a “search warrant was executed at the suspect’s residence and is being inventoried.”

“This is expected to be a lengthy investigation and hundreds of interviews will be conducted,” it said

Bouchard posted on Facebook early Dec. 1 and said that he had “just left Oxford high school after a detailed walk-through and examination of the scene and evidence.”

“As I reflect on the day, it is one that is filled with overwhelming sadness,” he wrote. “My heart aches for families that will never be the same and a quiet sweet community that had its innocence shattered. I have seen far too many bodies and death in my career, but children’s are always the worst.”