A gunman killed three people and injured five others at Michigan State University’s campus in East Lansing on Monday night, police said, adding that the suspect was later found dead after apparently taking his own life.
(Bloomberg) — A gunman killed three people and injured five others at Michigan State University’s campus in East Lansing on Monday night, police said, adding that the suspect was later found dead after apparently taking his own life.
The suspect, Anthony Duane McRae, 43, was found three hours after the shootings began in nearby Lansing, police said. McRae “is not affiliated in any way with MSU,” university police said on their Twitter feed. Authorities added they were searching for a motive but had no answers yet. MSU police confirmed they found a note on his body, and media reports said it threatened two New Jersey public schools.
The university’s police department responded to shots being fired near MSU’s Berkey Hall at 8:18 p.m. local time and told students and staff to secure-in-place. They were joined by state police as well as federal and local law enforcement, who worked to secure multiple buildings on the sprawling college campus.
“The suspect has been located off campus. It appears he has died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” MSU Police and Public Safety said on Twitter. It added there is no longer a threat to campus and the shelter-in-place was been lifted.
Police identified two of the deceased as Brian Fraser of Grosse Pointe, and Alexandria Verner of Clawson, both in Michigan. They didn’t release the name of the third person killed at the request of the family. All eight are students at the university.
“There is a lot we don’t know at this point,” Chris Rozman, the university police department’s interim deputy police chief, said at a news conference.
In an interview with NBC News, McRae’s father said that the shooter had been previously convicted of a weapons violation and that the father had told his son to get rid of the firearm. The father told the network he didn’t think his son was a danger to others.
The shootings took place in at least two locations and police were trying to piece together the events that led to the killings. The suspect had been described as a man in a mask who was carrying a rifle.
Police said it appeared there was only one suspect. After the initial report of the shooting, police speaking on radio said they were searching buildings and wooded areas on campus looking for the gunman.
“Tonight, Spartans will cry and hold each other a little closer. We will mourn the loss of beautiful souls and pray for those fighting for their lives in the hospital,” Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said on Twitter, referring to the MSU community.
The incident in Michigan is the 67th mass shooting in the US so far this year, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.
Whitmer, a Democrat, added “This is a uniquely American problem,” and “we should not, we cannot, accept living like this.”
Multiple police departments dispatched hundreds of officers to search and patrolling Michigan State’s 5,200 acre (2,100 hectares) campus, Rozman said at an earlier news conference.
The university is canceling all activities for 48 hours, including athletics, the school’s police and public safety department said on Twitter.
–With assistance from Derek Wallbank, Janine Phakdeetham and Tim Smith.
(Updates with details about a note found on the subject and names of two victims starting in the third paragraph.)
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