Michigan Matters: The Aftermaths of the Oxford School Shooting
Southfield (CBS Detroit) - As the community continues to pick up the pieces following the Nov. 30 shooting rampage at Oxford High School which claimed the lives of four students and injured seven others, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard appeared on CBS 62's "Michigan Matters" to talk about the incident and aftermaths.
Bouchard talked with Carol Cain, Senior Producer/Host, about the senseless killings, and how it has impacted the school, his staff and community. He talked about the 15-year-old suspect, who is behind bars, charged as an adult with four counts of first-degree murder and terrorism, and described him as "a coward" when Cain asked why he thought he gave himself up without a fight only minutes after the shooting spree began.
Bouchard talked about the heroism of his staff, who went into the school to disarm the shooter, and were forced to bypass young victims who were injured or dead. "Every second you wait, you risk more people being killed," Bouchard said. The suspect had an additional 18 magazines of ammo and would like have killed many others had they not intervened.
But the fallout of their heroic actions has come with a price as some feel guilty they could not stop to help injured inside the school as helping is in the DNA of most officers, Bouchard added.
Then, Rob Davidek, News Director of WWJ Newsradio 950, appeared to talk the 24/7 news station's coverage of this tragedy. He talked about the shooting scene and fallout as copy cat reports of school shootings and threats have come to light since Oxford.
He discussed the fact children were the victims and how it made this story even more difficult.
Then Ron French, Associate Editor of Bridge Michigan – an online publication which typically covers public policy, has been tunnel focused on Oxford and what it all means for schools and educators.
French, who worked at the Detroit News before joining Bridge Michigan, talked about earlier school shootings at Sandy Hook and Scotland in 1996 when a shooter went into a school and killed 16 children and a teacher. In that country, the tragedy caused gun laws to be changed and there has not been a school shooting since.
He offered thoughts on what he thought Oxford would mean for local and national gun laws and school policies.
Watch Michigan Matters, Sunday at 8am on CW50
