The recent Oxford high school shooting in Oxford, Mich. has some in the Deep Run community feeling anxious and reflective. 

   The Independent reported that the 15-year-old Oxford shooter, Ethan Crumbley, had been reported many times by parents of the students that went to Oxford high school in the days leading up to Nov. 16 because of his actions towards others and his social media posts about bringing a gun to school. However, school officials failed to search his backpack or locker. On Nov. 29, the day before the Oxford shooting, Crumbley had been caught looking online for ammo by multiple students. His parents had also been called into school because of some disturbing behaviors reported by teachers and counselors, but the student remained at school after the meeting.

   Crumbley is being charged with one count of terrorism, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent of murder, and 12 counts of possession of a firearm. Crumbley’s parents are also being charged for involuntary manslaughter as well for the murders. Reports show that new lawsuits against Oxford High School have been filed for over $200 million in damages by the victims’ families. 

   Deep Run has done frequent lock-and-teach and lock-and-hide drills for students and staff to react and practice what to do in situations like that. After the Michigan shooting, teachers were encouraged to review with students what they might do to protect themselves in a real-life event.

   “I hate that it happened; it’s scary, and I think it’s a good reminder for people to be aware of their surroundings and people,” Assistant Principal Laura McKinney said. “I commend the students and their actions because they did what they were supposed to do in that situation.”

   Officer Cosby, Deep Run’s School Resource Officer, echoed the need for drills and preparation. 

   “I hate that it happened and it seems that it’s getting closer to home. It could happen here and that’s why we do drills. We live in a society where it’s easy to know what someone should’ve done but we don’t have all the details on what the situation was like,” Cosby said.

   Some students had strong opinions about how the situation was handled in the Michigan school.  

   “I think that the school should’ve done something sooner to prevent all of this,” Diamond Smith said. 

   Other students reflected on their own circumstances and how they might react in a similar emergency.

   “If something like this happened at Deep Run, I don’t know what I’d do,” said another student.

   During the Oxford shooting, four teens were killed and seven people were injured including six students and a teacher. Oxford students are just returning to school this week, attending hybrid classes in a building shared with the local middle school.