In what may be the first terrorism conviction in a school shooting case, a Michigan teen accused of killing four classmates and injuring seven others in a school shooting last year pleaded guilty on Monday to charges that carry life-without-parole terms, CNN reports. Ethan Crumbley, a 15-year-old sophomore at the time, was accused of killing four Oxford High School students and injuring seven others last November. He was charged as an adult. “There have been no plea deals and no reductions,” said David Williams, chief assistant prosecutor in Oakland County, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Prosecutors’ decision to include a charge of terrorism causing death was unusual. "We are not aware of any other school shooter who has been convicted of terrorism,” Williams said. Crumbley's case is littered with legal rarities. Crumbley’s parents were charged with involuntary manslaughter. They have pleaded not guilty and are expected to stand trial. Criminal charges against parents or other family members following a shooting committed by a minor are unusual. During his plea, the Detroit Free Press reports, Crumbley told the judge that he asked his dad to buy him a gun, and that he gave him his own money to pay for it — though the parents have long maintained that they had no idea he would use the gun to carry out a mass shooting. "He's taking accountability for his actions," his lawyer Paulette Loftin told reporters after the hearing, saying her client is "definitely" remorseful for what he did.