OXFORD, Mich. (WXYZ) — Oxford community members made their voices heard Thursday, finally getting to ask questions about the eye-opening independent investigation report into the Oxford High School shooting.
The 572-page report, released earlier this week, was conducted by investigation firm Guidepost Solutions.
It writes that the school district's actions did help save lives that day, but ultimately failed students in distinct areas, and the "tragedy was avoidable."
A mother of two former Oxford High School students, Kal, took to the podium first Thursday at 1 p.m.
To the Guidepost Solutions team Kal said, "You talk about 'yes the school failed,' but at the very bottom, the last sentence, it says that you did not find intention, callousness, or wanted indifference. I wholeheartedly disagree with you."
Kal said the report should include more detail on the school's lack of preparation for a school threat, "The district wasn’t paying attention, why?"
"... in certain critical areas, individuals at every level of the District, from the Board to the Superintendent and his cabinet to the OHS administration and staff, failed to provide a safe and secure environment. Although only the Shooter is guilty of murder and assault, and his parents will be tried for their alleged gross negligence with respect to their son, the District was responsible for keeping Madisyn, Tate, Justin, Hana, and all of the other OHS survivors and students safe and secure at OHS on November 30, 2021, but failed to do so," part of the report said.
Another community member who spoke questioned school officials' actions the day of the shooting and how they responded to odd behavior from the shooter, "What stopped them from searching his backpack?"
The same speaker also brought up how school officials didn't participate in threat prevention, "They had people saying ‘hey we need to do this, we need to do this’ and they still didn’t do it? Okay."
Another point of outrage from community members was that some school officials refused to interview for the report, and they believe many didn't take responsibility for reporting the shooter's alarming behavior at school.
"What really bothered me? The tone of the report. You saw over and over, the administrators and the board saying, ‘Well I thought someone else was doing it.’ That is concerning."
There were some community members who thanked Guidepost Solutions for the report saying it was very helpful, however many maintained that more detail is necessary to keep Oxford safe from more tragedies like this happening again.
"You don’t get to point the finger and say, 'It wasn’t my job,’ because it was," said Kal.
