Charges filed in deadly Michigan school shooting

A 15-year-old suspect who police said shot and killed four students and wounded seven others in a Michigan school was charged as an adult on Wednesday with one count of terrorism causing death and four counts of first-degree murder.

The suspect was identified by Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald as Ethan Crumbley, a sophomore at Oxford High School, where the shooting happened. He faces life in prison without parole if convicted as charged.

Authorities revealed on Wednesday that about three hours before the suspect allegedly emerged from a bathroom and began shooting in the hallways of the school on Tuesday, he took part in a morning meeting with his parents and school officials over his "concerning" behavior in the classroom.

Crumbley appeared at a video arraignment from a juvenile detention facility before a judge on Wednesday afternoon, where the announcement of charges came just hours after a fourth student died at McLaren Oakland Hospital.

His parents, identified as Jennifer and James Crumbley, were also at the video conference.

'Premeditated' act

No motive was offered. But McDonald said the shooting was premeditated, based on a "mountain of digital evidence" against Crumbley. "This was not just an impulsive act," McDonald said.

She also said they are considering charges against both parents and will make a decision "swiftly".

Investigators found that he had recorded a video the night before the bloodshed in which he discussed killing students, said lieutenant Tim Willis of the sheriff's office.

Video footage from the school's surveillance cameras shows Crumbley with a backpack on early Tuesday afternoon, and he was seen exiting the bathroom without the backpack but with a gun in hand one or two minutes later.

He "methodically and deliberately" walked out in the hallways aiming the firearm at students and firing, said Michigan prosecutors.

Authorities believe the suspect fired at least 30 shots, as about 30 shell casings have been recovered at the scene, said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.

The four teenage victims were remembered on Wednesday for their commitment to athletics, art and family. Another six unidentified students and a teacher were wounded.

The state's 2002 anti-terrorism law defines a terroristic act as one intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, or to affect the conduct of a government through intimidation or coercion.

Unlike federal law and some states with their own anti-terrorism laws, Michigan has a broader definition beyond pressuring or retaliating against the government with violence. In 2012, the Michigan attorney general's office issued a terrorism charge for the first time after authorities apprehended a man who fired shots from his car at about two dozen vehicles along the Interstate 96 corridor.

Agencies and Xinhua contributed to this story.