3 students and a suspect are dead after Michigan State University shooting
Updated February 14, 2023 at 9:20 AM ET
A gunman shot and killed three students and injured five others on the campus of Michigan State University Monday night before fatally shooting himself, police said.
Local authorities said the suspect, a 43-year-old man named Anthony Dwayne McRae, was found dead off the campus in East Lansing, Mich., from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police said the suspect initially fled the scene on foot. Law enforcement located him roughly three hours later, using a tip from a local resident. He appeared to shoot himself after police confronted him.
Police said the suspect was believed to be acting alone and is not affiliated with the university.
Investigations are ongoing, and police currently have "absolutely no idea about a motive," said Chris Rozman, the interim deputy chief of the MSU police. He added that police executed a search warrant on the suspect's residence but have yet to release a motive.
Shots were initially fired at 8:18 p.m. ET inside Berkey Hall, which is home to the College of Social Science. Responding officers found two people dead on the scene.
Another shooting was reported shortly afterward at the MSU student union, which is located next door and is a gathering point for students. One person died there, Rozman said. Both Berkey Hall and the student union building are open to the public during business hours, police said.
Hundreds of officers from different agencies responded to the scene, Rozman said. Victims were transported to Sparrow Hospital in Lansing.
They were still in critical condition as of Tuesday morning and four had required surgical intervention, said Dr. Denny Martin, the acting chief medical officer at Sparrow Hospital.
Police confirmed on Tuesday morning that all of the shooting victims were students.
By 10:15 p.m. ET, police said Berkey and other buildings were secured, and the shelter-in-place warning was lifted early Tuesday morning. Earlier in the evening, police discouraged parents from coming to campus.
"For parents, we understand," Rozman said. "I can only imagine the emotion that's involved right now. It's going to help us, and it's going to help our response, and it's going to help us identify the shooter the less people that are on campus at this point."
All campus activities, including both in-person and virtual classes and sporting events, have been canceled for at least 48 hours. The school is providing counseling resources for students and employees.
Monday's shooting is the 67th so far in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive, an independent data collection organization. The group defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are shot or killed, excluding the shooter. Nearly 650 mass shootings took place in the country in 2022, according to the group.
During a Tuesday morning press conference, lawmakers including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Rep. Elissa Slotkin and East Lansing Mayor Ron Bacon called for an end to gun violence.
According to local news reports, least one student who sheltered in place on MSU's campus Tuesday was a survivor of the Oxford High School shooting that occurred in a nearby town in November 2021.
"As a representative of Oxford, Michigan, I cannot believe I am here again, doing this 15 months later. I am filled with rage that we have to have another press conference to talk about children being killed in their schools," said Rep. Slotkin.
"I would say that you either care about protecting kids or you don't. You care about having an open and honest conversation about what's going on in our society or you don't."
Teresa Woodruff, MSU's interim president, said early Tuesday that support will be provided for the 17,000 university students who attend classes at MSU's East Lansing campus, as well as faculty and staff.
"We're devastated with the loss of life and we want to wrap our arms around every family touched by this tragedy," she said. [Copyright 2023 NPR]
