Police interrogate artist linked to studio found by parents of suspected Michigan school shooting

By Dan Whitcomb

(Reuters) – Detectives plan to interview an artist associated with the Detroit studio, where the parents of a 15-year-old man accused of a Michigan school were found after a manhunt, a local sheriff said Sunday.

Andrzej Sikora, 65, will be questioned to determine what role he played in the disappearance of James and Jennifer Crumbley, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a statement.

“We will investigate the integrity of the situation hard to determine if there is any crime or obstruction involved,” Bouchard said. “We will present our findings to the prosecution.”

A lawyer representing Siko, Clarence Dass, told Detroit Free Press that his client “maintains his innocence throughout this process and is fully cooperating with law enforcement to assist in the investigation.”

Ethan Crumbley, 15, was arrested Tuesday at Oxford High School in suburban Oakland County, 48 miles northwest of Detroit. Arrested without bail and charged with adult assault for 2021 US school shooting deadly -01.

Four students were killed and seven others, including a teacher, were injured.

Police, FBI agents and the U.S. Marshals Service began searching for James Crumbley, 45, and Jennifer Crumbley, 43, after Oakland County prosecutors announced murder charges against the couple.

They accuse him of buying a gun as a Christmas present for his teenage son, and then accuse him of ignoring warning signs because he was planning a mass shooting at the institute.

Detroit Police Chief James White said Saturday morning that the couple had been found hiding in a commercial building east of the city at the Sikora art studio site. White said they did not enter the building, but were accessed by someone with access.

Dass said Sikora contacted the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office after Crumbley was arrested.

“Sir. Siko has not been charged with any crime. However, when he learned of Crumbleys’ arrest on December 4, 2021, he voluntarily contacted the Detroit Police Department and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office to provide information,” Dass told a Free Press statement.

James and Jennifer Crumbley both pleaded not guilty to four counts of manslaughter on Saturday and were ordered to be arrested on $ 500,000 bail.

A Crumbley lawyer said the couple was not trying to escape law enforcement and intended to surrender.

A 14-year-old student injured in the attack was released from hospital on Sunday. A student remains hospitalized, listed as stable.