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Oxford student killed in shooting
The families of two students killed in the 2021 Oxford High School mass shooting have each accepted a $500,000 settlement offer from the school district to resolve their claims.
The offers were accepted before their federal lawsuits were dismissed, the Detroit Free Press reports. The U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed the lawsuits on May 20, finding that the Oxford school district was protected by governmental immunity and could not be sued over the shootings.
Detroit attorney Ven Johnson, who represents one of the families that accepted the offer and two that rejected it, said the offers fall far short.
"It feels like a slap in the face," Johnson told Tresa Baldas of the Detroit Free Press.
The family of Justin Shilling, who was fatally shot in the head in a school bathroom by fellow student Ethan Crumbley, accepted the offer.
"Obviously, the Shilling family was highly conflicted, as it is nothing compared to their loss," Johnson tells the Freep. "But since they were faced with getting zero, this is what they felt was in the best interest of their family."
Ven Johnson (Law firm photo)
Oxford schools attorney Tim Mullins said Thursday, according to the Free Press:
"It's a combination of a goodwill gesture and a reasonable resolution of a disputed claim, and what was agreed to. We reached an accommodation."
Steve St. Juliana, the father of 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, who was killed, has rejected the offer. He tells the Free Press he’s holding out, trying to challenge the immunity issue so that schools can be held responsible in shootings.
