LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — Responsibility, long deferred, has finally arrived in Oxford. Nearly three years after the devastating shooting at Oxford High School, Oakland County allocated $500,000 on Sept. 5 for an independent review of the emergency response.
On Nov. 30, 2021, four students were killed and seven others injured, including a teacher, in one of Michigan’s most horrific school shootings. The events of that day didn’t just shatter the lives of four families. They shattered the illusion that Michigan’s systems—its schools, emergency responders, and protocols—are enough to help shield residents from such evils.
Subsequently, the county now seeks to answer some hard questions: How effective was the emergency response? What could have been done differently? And, most importantly, how can Michigan better prepare for—and hopefully prevent—such tragedies in the future?
To address these concerns, the Oakland County Board of Commissioners have approved funding for an independent third-party review to scrutinize the actions of law enforcement, fire, and medical services during the Oxford shooting.
The resolution, co-authored by Board Chair David T. Woodward ( D-Royal Oak) and Minority Caucus Chair Michael Spisz (R-Oxford), reinforces the need for an unbiased, thorough examination of the response. Their goal is to identify what worked, where the response fell short, and what improvements can be made to emergency protocols moving forward.
The review, expected to provide a clear analysis of the coordination—or lack thereof—among law enforcement, emergency medical teams, and school officials, may bring some clarity to what went wrong on Nov. 30.
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