Tony Montalito still feels sadness surrounding the mass school shooting that took his young daughter’s life in Parkland, Florida in 2018. But on Tuesday, he also felt some sense of justice.
The jury decision in Michigan that found Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of a school shooter, responsible at least in part for the 2021 killings at Oxford High School sends an important signal, Montalito told USA TODAY. It offers parents of shooting victims some hope that people will take steps to keep guns away from their children.
“Holding people accountable for their roles in not actively trying to get troubled individuals help before they commit acts of violence will send a strong message,” Montalito said. “It shows how we all need to come together as parents, students and teachers. It’s the start of the process. There’s not one solution to this problem.”
The jury’s decision is the first time the parent of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for their part in a mass killing. The Oxford shooting left four dead and seven others injured.
The case could alter the future of gun violence in America and how parents are held liable for what their kids do with firearms kept in their homes, legal experts, gun control advocacy groups and families impacted by gun violence told USA TODAY.
In all, 17 were killed and 17 were injured at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on Feb. 14, 2018. On Tuesday, Parkland parents were “happy to see some accountability from…
