Oxford HS Reopens For First Time Since Attack

OXFORD, MI — Students returned to Oxford High School on Monday for the first time since the deadly shooting at the school on Nov. 30 that left four students dead and injured seven others.

Oxford High School students had been attending classes for the past two weeks at other buildings in the school district.

The high school made several upgrades to its building, including to its interior which was renovated with new paint, wall graphics and ceiling tiles.

In a video posted Sunday, Principal Steve Wolf said that construction crews had been working "tirelessly" on the renovations and school staff worked hard to "prepare our students for a safe return to school."

"We’ve been grieving together, we’ve been praying together, we’ve attended funerals, vigils and memorials and we have been absolutely heartbroken. And we’ve been angry," Wolf said in the video. "Yet we’ve been determined to carry on ... And we are reclaiming our high school back."

Classes were expected to resume at 10:20 a.m., said Dani Stublensky, a spokeswoman for Oxford Community Schools.

The temporary memorial that was set up outside the school was removed before students returned to the school, because Oxford School District Superintendent Tim Throne said experts believe that removing it would help students "further their healing process."

However, the school district is planning a permanent memorial.

"As a community, we will get through this with love and grace for one another," Oxford Schools Superintendent Tim Throne said last week when referring to a lawsuit the school district is facing and the high school's planned reopening.

Fellow Oxford student, Ethan Crumbley, 15, was charged in connection to the shooting, in which authorities said he opened fired in the school on Nov. 30, killing four students and wounding seven others.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.