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Media slammed for using 'baby-faced' pictures of Ethan Crumbley instead of mug shot

The November 30 shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan by Ethan Crumbley killed four and injured eight others

The media coverage of Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley has left many fuming after reports used "baby-faced" pictures of the shooter instead of his Oakland County Jail mugshot.
 
The November 30 shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan that killed four and injured eight others left people shocked and devastated. 15-year-old Crumbley opened fire inside the campus just before 1 pm, killing Tate Myre, 16; Hanna St Julian, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Justin Shilling, also 17, and injuring eight others. Crumbley, a sophomore student at the school, was taken into custody shortly after without incident. Authorities recovered a 9mm Sig Sauer SP2022 pistol that still had seven rounds.

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Most reports about Crumbley used photos of him that were immediately available for publishing. However, these were described as "baby-faced" pictures of the shooter from when he was in 5th grade. Many online criticized news outlets for using young photos of the alleged shooter instead of his OCJ mugshot.

"The media is working overtime to display baby-faced pictures of this KILLER. THIS is the picture that needs to accompany every article written about Ethan Crumbley. He MURDERED & INJURED his classmates! He deserves ZERO sympathy!!!!!!!!" one wrote on Twitter, sharing a mugshot of the shooter.

"They got Ethan Crumbley's baby-faced 5th-grade picture circulating the internet," another added.

"Amazing @InsideEdition have recent photos of Ethan Crumbley victims, but put up an elementary school picture and video of him, the MURDERER, and told the whole world that was him, and called him “baby faced”. WTF?!" a comment read.
 
"Don’t say BABY FACED to paint an innocent picture," someone else offered.

"Stop trying to infantilize this f***king murderer. I don't want to see his baby pictures. Show the Oxford High shooter's mugshot. This is Ethan Crumbley not his stupid YT videos from Elementary," another wrote.

Responding to the backlash, some offered that Crumbley's mugshot wasn't available until much later, when he was booked into the Oakland County Jail. "He was just charged and booked into OCJ today. There was no mugshot until now," a Twitter user wrote.

Others felt there should be no pictures at all as it would garner attention toward the shooter.

"He deserves 0 attention. His name and pictures should never be displayed after today. his name will forever be forgotten and only the lives lost and impacted will live on forever," one tweeted.

"Doesn't deserve his pic or name plastered anywhere, actually," a user added.

"...Whatever his sh***y motives were, we know he wanted attention (he posted all over). Don’t give it to him. $20 says he’s asking his parents what the internet is saying," another chimed in.
 

Crumbley was arraigned before a judge on Wednesday, December 1, and entered a not guilty plea. Reportedly, his attorney has advised him to plead the fifth during police questioning. He is being held without bail at Oakland County Jail, where he was moved from Oakland County's Children's Village after his court appearance. While his attorney did not object to Crumbley being held without bail, he did attempt to object to the move to county jail but was overruled. 
 
A probable cause conference has been set for December 13 and a preliminary examination for December 20. In the meantime, Crumbley is being held in isolation at county jail and won't have contact with any adult inmates. It's unclear if he will remain on suicide watch as he was before his arrangement.