The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office said it will work with the Michigan Attorney General's Office to start an investigation into the Oxford High School shooting.
On Wednesday night, Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Williams told 7 News Detroit that the office will provide Attorney General Dana Nessel "whatever is necessary" to get an investigation started.
It comes just days after the families of the victims of the shooting held a press conference renewing their call for an independent investigation into the deadly Nov. 30, 2021 shooting.
The AG's office said in a statement to 7 News Detroit on Thursday that they are in discussions with the legislature and governor's office to ensure they have adequate resources for an investigation.
"We look forward to working with the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office and Oakland County Sheriff’s Department on a timeline for them to provide all the necessary materials relevant to this review," a spokesperson said.
WATCH BELOW: Oxford families renew call for independent investigation nearly 3 years after school shooting
Four students were killed during the shooting: Tate Myre, Justin Shilling, Hana St. Juliana and Madisyn Baldwin. Seven other people were injured.
"We'll fight. We'll fight to our grave. I'm never going to give up this fight," Buck Myre, the father of Tate Myre, said at the press conference.
Related Video: Watch the interview with Buck Myre after the press conference
The families say they continue the fight in order to make schools safer.
“When my kids have kids, I want schools to be better. I want it to be safer for my grandkids,” said Buck Myre. "We want the full truth to come out. I know we kind of sound like a broken record but how do we know what to change if we don’t do a legit investigation that our state funded schools will recognize."
Steve St. Juliana, Hana's father, said: “What we’re here today trying to drive is looking at the big picture and how do we fix the broken pieces of the system itself. We know there’s a lot more there."
In a press conference later on Monday, Nessel said her office has offered the Oakland County Sheriff's Office and Oakland County Prosecutor's Office several times to assist in their investigations, and that their offers were "soundly rejected."
"We offered immediately to help the Oakland County Sheriff's office in their investigation. They declined the sheriff flat-out refused. I asked the Oakland County Prosecutor if they desired or were interested in our help. I offered it over and over and over again and each time the Oakland County Prosecutor refused," said AG Dana Nessel.
Nessel said that they've never withdrawn the offer and that neither the prosecutor's office or sheriff's office has asked the AG's office to help in the investigation. She says per policy her office will not supersede any criminal investigations being handled at the local level without a formal request.
Nessel also said that she doesn't have any more subpoena power than the sheriff's office or prosecutor's office.
"We don’t have some specific statute on the books that allows us to have civil authority to launch a civil investigation. We just have the criminal authority. That’s exactly what they have," said Nessel. "So I guess my question is to Sheriff Bouchard: If there are additional things you think need to be investigated and specifically I’m talking about any crimes being committed by members of the school board, administration or staff, why didn’t you investigate it?"
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard released a statement later on Monday that reads in part, "As we have said from the beginning, we are more than willing to participate in any state review or investigation,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. “I told the victims of this tragedy I would support any effort that would answer all questions they have. If the attorney general would like access to our investigative reports or our people, I will happily provide them."
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald then released a statement, saying that her office doesn't have the authority to conduct the investigation the families have asked for.
"We are not aware of any mechanism for our office to refer a matter to the Attorney General’s office when it has not been presented to our office. And what the families are asking for is much broader. We are not aware of any action needed by my office to activate the Attorney General’s authority, but we will do everything possible to enable such an investigation. And my office will fully cooperate with any such investigation," McDonald said in the statement.
Oxford did hire Guidepost Solutions to conduct an investigation, however, the families said that many people refused to cooperate and left key questions unanswered because they didn't have subpoena power.
That investigation was released in October 2023 and was a 572-page report that detailed what district officials may have known about the shooter.
While the report says the district's actions did help save lives and keep students safe with its training and safety protocols, there were certain areas where the district failed.
"... in certain critical areas, individuals at every level of the District, from the Board to the Superintendent and his cabinet to the OHS administration and staff, failed to provide a safe and secure environment. Although only the Shooter is guilty of murder and assault, and his parents will be tried for their alleged gross negligence with respect to their son, the District was responsible for keeping Madisyn, Tate, Justin, Hana and all of the other OHS survivors and students safe and secure at OHS on November 30, 2021, but failed to do so," part of the report said.
The report also said the "tragedy was avoidable" and that district officials often denied responsibility and shifted it elsewhere.
The firm says the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office provided everything they requested.
