“The parents of the shooter that are running away, they’re here.”
Those were the words of the man who alerted authorities where to find Jennifer and James Crumbley, whose son, Ethan, is the accused Oxford High School shooter, the Detroit Free Press reports.
This week, police released a recording of the man’s 911 call in response to a public records request from the newspaper.
The unidentified caller had dialed 911 at 10:43 p.m. on December 3 amid a massive manhunt for the parents in connection with the November 30 tragedy that left four students dead and eight others injured.
According to the recording, the caller gave law enforcement the address of a building on Detroit’s east side.
When the man said he was calling in reference to the “parents of the shooter,” the operator asked for an explanation, according to the newspaper.
“The Oakland shooter, the kid has the two parents that are on the run right now,” the caller told the operator. “Oakland County said call if you see anything. And I just went to go park my car and switch it around at my office. I’m in my office. And there was a Kia that looked like their car.”
The caller said he “walked around and checked the license plate and it’s their car, and the woman is here,” according to the newspaper. The man then relayed the license plate number.
He added that he saw the mother “sitting next to her car in the parking lot,” the Free Press reports.
“I can’t believe that they’re here. It’s crazy,” the man told the operator, according to WXYZ-TV.
Police soon descended on the property and found the couple hiding in the basement.
Prosecutors have charged the parents with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting, alleging that they ignored warning signs and red flags about their son and did not alert the school that they had recently purchased him a gun.
Defense attorneys for the parents assert that their clients were not running away and had planned to turn themselves in the next morning.
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[Feature Photo: Police Handout]
