$100m suit filed in school shooting

Parents of survivors of the mass shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan filed a $100 million lawsuit on Thursday against the school district and its employees, saying that they failed to prevent the rampage in which four students were killed and seven people were injured, despite multiple warnings.

The lawsuit was filed in the federal court in Michigan by Jeffrey and Brandi Franz on behalf of their daughters, 17-year-old senior Riley Franz and 14-year-old freshman Bella Franz. Riley, who was next to Bella during the attack on Nov 30, was shot in the neck.

She was hospitalized following the shooting and is now recovering at home.

The lawsuit was filed by Geoffrey Fieger, the parents' lawyer. He is preparing to file a similar suit in state court, which will also seek $100 million. But Fieger said state law makes it difficult to successfully sue public bodies like school districts. He said a federal lawsuit allows him to subpoena the school district for records and evidence connected to the shooting.

Fieger represented survivors of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colorado. Two teenagers killed 13 people and wounded more than 20 others before turning the guns on themselves.

Raising concerns

The lawsuit names the Oxford school district, its superintendent Tim Throne, Oxford High School principal Steven Wolf, the dean of students, two counselors, two teachers and a staff member.

It accuses school officials of failing to stop an attack that inflicted physical and psychological injuries on students, even though school officials were already alerted to the violent threats in the hours and days before the shooting rampage. Students and parents also raised their concerns two weeks earlier.

The lawsuit stated that both girls have suffered from anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder after the incident, along with physical and/or emotional injuries.

Ethan Crumbley, 15, has been charged with one count of terrorism causing death and four counts of first-degree murder. His parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, have been charged with involuntary manslaughter, because the prosecutor said they should have known that their son was a danger to his school. All have pleaded not guilty.

The lawsuit claimed constitutional violations under the 14th Amendment and violations under Michigan state law because the teenagers "had a clearly established right to be free from danger". The lawsuit also stated that school staff members acted in "reckless disregard" for the victims' safety.