OXFORD, MI – A comfortably small and proudly close-knit village in northern Oakland County now bears the unfortunate distinction of producing one of the deadliest school shootings in recent years.
An unexpected flash of violence at Oxford High School cut the lives of four teens short and shattered the sanctuary of residents who were put at ease by the community’s countryside character. To the outside world, Oxford was virtually unheard of before a gunman opened fire on his classmates on Nov. 30, but locals say the horrific event will not define their community.
Residents who spoke with MLive put Oxford and family in the same sentence. They described the village as a destination for people to set down roots. The area is rich with public activities, a handsome downtown with a historic theatre and plenty of open space.
“It’s a place where people would want to live and raise your children,” said Marilyn Benner, a lifelong resident. “Please don’t judge.”
Benner holds a deep connection to Oxford’s land and its people. She worked as a secretary in Oxford Community Schools for 43 years, including 12 years at the high school, and knows many of the children personally. Benner lives less than a mile away in a house built by her uncles, who once farmed the land now occupied by the high school.
After the shooting that’s become synonymous with the town’s name, she’s hopeful people will be able to see past those headlines and into the town’s true character.
The village of Oxford is located within a township with the same name. Oxford Township has an estimated population of 22,419, with the village’s own population approximated at 3,492, according to 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data.
The area was settled in 1823 and formally incorporated as a village in 1876. It grew alongside rail lines that traced across the state and became renowned for its production of gravel. By the 1920s, five of Michigan’s largest gravel pits were located around Oxford.
Cars drive along M-24 on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021 through downtown Oxford. (Jake May | MLive.com)Jake May
Benner’s family was attracted to Oxford after leaving the hustle and bustle of Detroit for a quieter existence. She graduated from the high school with 80 students and saw it grow to 440 graduates last year. Most of her memories were made here.
She fondly recounted how sandhill cranes gently meander into her backyard. Benner meets for a weekly meal with members of her graduating class. Sometimes she drops by the police station with a bag of popcorn for the chief.
In Oxford, everybody knows everybody. But nobody knows how this happened.
Four students died when, according to authorities, a sophomore came out of a bathroom with a handgun and began firing at people in the hallway. The victims include Tate Myre, 16, Hana St. Juliana, 14, Madisyn Baldwin, 17 and Justin Shilling, 17. Seven others were injured, including an adult teacher.
Oxford Superintendent Tim Throne said the high school looks like a “war zone” in a Dec. 2 video addressing the community. Throne said it will take weeks to restore the school, and even more time to heal. Students won’t be asked to return while funerals for victims are being held, he said.
“I want you to know that you’re loved, that these events that have occurred will not define us,” Throne said.
“Today may be a dark day in Oxford, but it’s still a great day to be a Wildcat.”
The shooting was a hit to the heart of a town that prizes its schools. Oxford High School, and the children within it, is the pride of the community. The school’s blue and gold colors adorn street signs and ribbons decorating lamp posts around town. Parents display yard signs indicating their child is a Wildcat, the school mascot.
Locals gathered in a downtown coffee shop on Thursday morning, two days after the attack. After greeting with a hug, they shared their confusion. How did a 15-year-old sophomore obtain a 9mm handgun? Who is to blame? How do we get back to normal? Instead of school sports, they planned schedules around nightly vigils. A donation jar for families of victims was placed a few feet from a large photo of the football team, including Tate.
A group of four friends at the local Irish pub huddled around a phone to watch the latest press conference from law enforcement. Patrons on their way in passed a note scrawled in a child’s handwriting reading: “We need to be better people.”
A teacher at the pub known for its Thursday night special -- a $1 Guinness draft served exactly at 5:59 p.m. -- took comfort in conversation with other regulars, but it was too soon for many to talk about what happened.
Signs of the shooting are everywhere in the small town. Storefronts posted photos of victims in glass windows. Quiet neighborhoods are full of “Oxford strong” yard signs.
A procession of mourners numbering hundreds visited a memorial at Oxford High School over the last few days. Residents and relatives of victims left dozens of bouquets of flowers, prayer candles and messages of love.
Members of the Baldwin family stopped by Wednesday night. Diane Baldwin described her niece as “the sweetest kid ever,” who was bursting with artistic talent.
“Her dad and mom, they just can’t talk,” Baldwin said. “They’re very distraught and there’s a lot of questions. Dad is very angry. He just doesn’t understand. Madisyn would not have hurt a fly.”
The next morning, Vanessa LaBrie watched her 8-year-old son confidently climb their chain link fence moments after she tightly held him and her 10-year-old daughter. They’ve lived in Oxford for five years, one of the last houses on a two-lane road leading to Oxford High School. The wind fluttered through a “prayers for Oxford” sign on her lawn.
Two days earlier, she watched in terror as a stream of sirens wailed past her window. LaBrie and her husband rushed to take their kids out of the elementary school. When they returned, she was shocked to see a teacher and a group of students sprinting toward their house, escaping the shooting.
“It’s not something you think is going to happen in your own backyard, especially literally a quarter-mile away,” LaBrie said.
Photos of three of the four teens killed in the Oxford High School shooting are posted on the window at Sullivan's Public House Restaurant and Bar on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021 in Oxford. (Jake May | MLive.com)Jake May
LaBrie also lives a few blocks from the accused shooter, who authorities have identified as 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley. LaBrie said her son used to walk their dog by Crumbley’s house. In the heat of the chaos, LaBrie’s kids were fearful that the shooter would break in. The attack has destroyed their sense of security, she said.
“It’s nothing that I ever thought I would experience, or my children,” LaBrie said. “It’s just hard to see my kids cry and be scared like that ... It’s so hard to explain to them that it’s going to be OK. You want to make them think it’s going to be OK, but you really don’t know.”
LaBrie works with high school students at a local restaurant. She’s working extra shifts this week to let students have time to grieve.
“It’s just a small town,” LaBrie said. “Everybody’s so close.”
A day after the shooting, Jesse Holt, a pastor at LakePoint Community Church in Oxford, said his heart is numb. Holt was a teacher for 13 years who moved back to Michigan to take over his father’s church. He said Oxford is home to strong people; they will recover.
“The problem is, if it happened 10 years ago it would be the story of the decade,” Holt said. “This is becoming such a regular occurrence.”
In a close-knit community, the killings hit home for everyone. Several parents who spoke with MLive recounted stories of their elementary-age children in Oxford and Lake Orion hearing about the shooting from a teacher who had a child at the high school.
"Oxford Strong" and "We are here for you," are listed on a sign along M-24 outside of Funky Monkey Toys on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021 in downtown Oxford. (Jake May | MLive.com)Jake May
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald charged the alleged shooter with an act of terrorism to reflect the incident’s impact on students who survived and people whose relationship with their hometown is forever changed.
“It’s going to take a long time for everybody to start to deal with this and get past it,” LaBrie said. “I’m glad everybody’s working together as a community to help.”
Benner knows what it’s like to lose a child. Her daughter, a nurse with ambition, died at the age of 40. Benner prays for the parents who lost children, the children who had to witness the shooting, as well as those whose lives were cut short.
“I just think most of the people that live here are hard-working, honest good people,” Benner said. “I really do.”
READ MORE ON MLIVE:
Stricter gun laws? The question looms over Michigan politics in wake of deadly school shooting
4th victim dies in hospital after Oxford High School shooting
Petition aims to rename Oxford High School stadium after shooting victim Tate Myre
What we know about the three students killed in the Oxford High School shooting
15-year-old charged as an adult with terrorism, murder in Oxford High School shooting
MHSAA executive director Mark Uyl shares sorrow, offers support to Oxford
School officials met with Oxford High shooting suspect, parents about ‘concerning’ behavior
Oxford High School shooting was planned, prosecutor says. ‘It isn’t even a close call.’
Sheriff: Viral video doesn’t show Oxford High School shooter impersonating police
Testimony: Teen took video about killing students night before Oxford High School shooting
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