The parents of the Michigan teen who allegedly shot up his school earlier this week were found hiding in a Detroit warehouse early Saturday after leading authorities on a widespread manhunt, police said.
Jennifer and James Crumbley were arrested and booked into the Oakland County Jail after officers acting on a tip found them in a room inside the commercial building, Detroit Police Chief James White said.
“They appear to be hiding inside the building,” the chief told reporters.
The fugitives seemed “very distressed” when they were captured, White said, adding that one of the two had their head down and a hoodie on and appeared “just very upset.”
A tipster reported seeing the couple’s SUV in the building’s parking lot, some 50 miles from their Oxford home, and not far from the border with Canada. The person also had video of one of the fugitives entering the warehouse, White said.
It appears that someone helped the couple get into the building, and that person could now be facing charges, the top cop said.
“They didn’t break in. Somebody let them in,” White said.
Local cops and federal authorities said early Friday afternoon they were hunting for the couple, who were supposed to turn themselves in after Oakland County prosecutors charged them each with involuntary manslaughter in connection with their son Ethan Crumbley’s deadly attack.
Their attorneys maintained that the pair had left town for their safety and were not trying to elude law enforcement.
A reward of up to $10,000 was being offered for information leading to the capture of Jennifer and James each, US Marshals announced Friday night, as they released “Wanted” posters of the pair.
The charges for the couple — which experts said were very rare in such a case — stem from having purchased a gun for the teen in the days ahead of the shooting and for failing to take action when alerted to Ethan’s concerning behavior, according to prosecutors.
The 15-year-old allegedly opened fire on his Oxford High School classmates and teachers Tuesday, killing four and wounding seven. He was charged as an adult with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of terrorism causing death, and was being held without bail.
The Crumbley parents are expected to be arraigned at around 9 a.m. Saturday.
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