OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. — The family of Hana St. Juliana, a victim of the Oxford High School shooting, filed a lawsuit against the school district and school officials Friday.
Hana, 14, was killed in the Nov. 30, 2021 shooting along with three others. Six other students and one teacher were injured.
Her father, Steve St. Juliana, and her sister, Reina St. Juliana, filed the lawsuit against the Oxford Community School District, its former superintendent Timothy Throne, Oxford High School Principal Steven Wolf, Dean of Students Nicholas Ejak, School Counselor Shawn Hopkins, and Kenneth Weaver, the current superintendent.
According to a press release, the lawsuit was filed because the district refused to accept its role in the shooting, and school officials have not yet issued policy changes to help circumvent a future shooting.
The family's claims come after investigation revealed that school officials had contact with the suspected shooter, Ethan Crumbley, the morning of the shooting, where they determined he needed counseling. The suspect had been writing violent notes and drawings prior to the meeting.
While school counselors encouraged the suspect's parents to take him home for the day, he was sent back to class with his unsearched backpack.
Authorities say the shooting occurred later that day just before 1 p.m.
The suspect's parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, were later each charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, and the 15-year-old suspect was charged as an adult with two dozen crimes, including murder and terrorism.
“The District has forced our hand, demonstrating that they do not intend to be accountable for their role in this tragedy,” said Steve St. Juliana in a press release. “No amount of money will ever compensate my family for the loss of our vibrant and beautiful Hana. Our family and the Oxford community deserves accountability and real change.”
The lawsuit also accuses the Oxford district of telling a "false narrative" about the shooting, saying that the suspect did not have to go back to class like the district says.
In addition to the lawsuit, 17-year-old Reina St. Juliana has asked that Superintendent Weaver hire an independent team to investigate the causes of the shooting, as well as adopt policies to prevent future shootings.
“I am standing up for my sister,” Reina said in a release. “I will be Hana’s voice for change. Until the District acknowledges what happened and what they did wrong, violence like this will happen again. These senseless killings were preventable and I will do anything I can to make sure this doesn’t ever happen again.”
Another lawsuit against the district was announced in late January and was filed on behalf of William and Sheri Myre, parents of shooting victim Tate Myre; student Keegan Gregory and his parents, Chad and Meghan Gregory; and students Sophia and Grace Kempen and their mother, Lauren Aliano.
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