Teenager expected to plead guilty to terrorism and murder in school shooting trial

A teenager who killed four students and injured seven others in a shooting at a high school in Michigan is expected to plead guilty to terrorism and murder charges.

During the attack in November last year, Ethan Crumbley, who is now 16, used a 9-millimeter handgun that had been bought for him by his parents as an early Christmas present.

His parents are facing charges of involuntary manslaughter.

If he does plead guilty, Crumbley will be the first school shooting suspect in the US to be found guilty of terrrorism. He is expected to plead guilty to all 24 charges against him and faces life in prison.

It is rare for parents to be accused of acts that lead to a school shooting. James and Jennifer Crumbley are accused of helping him obtain the gun and ignoring warning signs. They have plead not guilty. Their trial was scheduled for this month, but has been postponed. Following the shooting, they failed to turn themselves in and were taken into custody in a commercial building where it is believed they were hiding.

During preliminary hearings, a guidance counsellor testified that on the morning of the shooting, he had called the parents to the school and called on them to seek counselling for their son after he was found with drawings of a gun. They declined to take him home from school and the attack occurred later that day.