Brian Gornick, Staff Writer
People deliver flowers and other gifts to The Spartan statue to memorialize the tragedy at Michigan State. Photo//Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press.
Police in East Lansing were called to the campus of Michigan State University on Monday night, as an active shooter killed three students and injured five.
Students were alerted by MSU police at 8:40 p.m on Monday, February 13, when MSU Police and Public Safety posted on twitter that shots had been fired near Berkey Hall.
A four hour manhunt ensued until the shooter was discovered on security cameras around 11:00 p.m., according to a press release by MSU police. Police were led to the suspect around 11:35 p.m., and when officers approached the suspect, he was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police identified 43-year old Anthony McRae as the shooter. A motive is unknown as of Tuesday afternoon. In press releases and interviews with NBC, McRae’s family said that he has been disconnected from his family, becoming increasingly bitter after his mother died from a stroke in 2020.
43-year old Anthony Dwayne McRae, from the Michigan Department of Corrections. Photo//AP.
McRae pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, possession of a loaded firearm in or upon a vehicle, in 2019 after he was approached with his bike by police. McRae also had no known affiliation with the university, nor was he a student or staff member according to Chris Rozman, interim deputy chief of the Michigan State University Police Department.
The three victims have since been identified by MSU police as of Tuesday afternoon: Brian Fraser, Alexandria Verner, and Arielle Diamond Anderson.
Michigan State cancelled all classes and campus activities on Tuesday and Wednesday, but their realities will not go back to normal once they return to campus.
The Study Body Presidents of Michigan also released a joint statement, expressing their disappointment and frustration, but also calling for policy and change.
The University of Michigan-Dearborn will hold a Candle Light Vigil on Wednesday, February 15 at 5:15 p.m. at the University Center Patio. Once that is concluded, students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to drive to Ann Arbor for a vigil at the University of Michigan, located at the Diag @ 7 p.m.
Comments