James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of the teen charged in the Oxford High School shooting, were located and arrested early Saturday in Detroit after a citizen saw their vehicle and called police.
"Yes, they are both in custody and will be on the way to the Oakland County Jail soon," said Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe. "Kudos to Detroit PD and all the other agencies that assisted."
Police arrived at the scene, in the area of the 1100 block of Bellevue near E. Lafayette, about 10 p.m. or 10:30 p.m., Detroit Police Chief James White told reporters about 3 a.m. Saturday morning.
It's believed the Crumbleys — facing charges of involuntary manslaughter connected to the Oxford High School mass shooting in which their son is accused — were let into a commercial building by someone, White said.
Police know who that someone is and those who aided the couple could face criminal charges, White said.
More: James, Jennifer Crumbley arraignment at 9:30 a.m. Saturday
The Crumbleys were found hiding inside and were "distressed" White said. They were unarmed.
He said security video had helped officers by revealing one of the Crumbleys entering the building.
Authorities had been searching for the Crumbleys most of the day Friday after they were charged with four counts each of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting deaths at the high school in northern suburban Detroit. Their son, Ethan Crumbley, is charged with terrorism and first-degree murder in the case.
The Crumbley parents did not show for their arraignment Friday afternoon in Rochester Hills and the U.S. Marshals Service offered a reward for information leading to their arrests.
The tip led officers to search through the Bellevue building, home to several businesses. Police could be seen outside the building and in SWAT gear outside a nearby home about 12:45 a.m. as other officers checked the area, combing nearby properties with flashlights.
The area on Detroit's near east side is peppered with light industrial buildings and is located a couple blocks north of the Detroit River, just west of Belle Isle.
White praised his officers, and said Detroit was going to use whatever manpower was necessary to aid the victims from the high school shooting in Oxford Township, which is about a 45 minute drive from where the Crumbleys were discovered. The Tuesday tragedy has touched the whole country, he said.
"We've got a number of victims in Oxford, it takes as much manpower as it takes. ... We're tired of this," he said. "I mean, it's awful."
More: Before Oxford shooting, officials repeatedly told parents it's safe
The investigation of the shootings and the search for the Crumbleys was led by the Oakland County Sheriff's Office. McCabe previously said the vehicle was found around 11:30 p.m. Friday.
“The owner of the building arrived and saw the car in the back parking lot, knew it didn’t belong there, went to investigate,” McCabe told the Free Press.
More:Sheriff's Office blasts prosecutor for parents of Oxford shooting suspect being on the lam
The building’s owner immediately recognized the car from information put out by law enforcement, checked the license plate, which matched, and called 911.
“There was a woman nearby sitting near the car smoking a cigarette,” McCabe said, adding that she walked away.
Sean O’Neill, 40, of Detroit, looked on with his wife, Jocelyn, as police worked about 12:30 a.m. The two had responded to a security company call that the alarm to their rare tropical plants business inside the Bellevue building was triggered. It could have been the cops working, he noted.
The couple had arrived about midnight to see the massive police response.
“They’ve been searching with the dogs back there and you see the flashlights in the woods,” he said, waiting for a chance to turn the alarm off.
As of 1:10 a.m., police were stopping passers-by, shining lights and requesting information about whether people had seen anything
By about 1:45 a.m., the Crumbleys were under arrest.
The couple was turned over to the U.S. Marshals and the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, White said. They are expected to be arraigned on the criminal charges later Saturday.
Staff writer Christina Hall contributed to this report. Contact Darcie Moran: [email protected]. Contact Tyler Davis: [email protected].
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