On Monday, shots were fired inside two Michigan State University buildings. Police reported that a man without any link to the university was the one who targeted them, and it ended with three persons dead and five others hospitalised with critical injuries, all of whom were students.
The shooter, a 43-year-old man, was first seen inside Berkey Hall just before 8:20 p.m. on Monday, before moving on to the MSU Union a short distance away and opening fire there as well. Both structures are university facilities and are accessible to the public during regular business hours.
“This truly has been a nightmare that we are living tonight,” said MSU Deputy Chief Chris Rozman. “But we have remained laser focused on the safety of our campus, our students, and the surrounding community.”
After the shooting, the man then was on the run for several hours, parking a campus-wide and eventually larger, manhunt that included dozens of police agencies. He was ultimately found dead after taking his own life in Lansing, about four miles from campus.
His motive is still unknown, 12 hours after the shooting. As are the conditions of the five victims taken to a Lansing hospital.
Who was Anthony Mcrae? Michigan State University shooting suspect
Anthony McRae, 43, has been named as the suspect by MSU Police. According to MSU Police, the Lansing native has no affiliation with the school because he is neither a student nor a member of the faculty or staff.
“We have absolutely no idea what the motive was,” said Rozman Tuesday morning. “The 43-year-old suspect had no affiliation to the school, he was not a student, staff or faculty member.”
Police searched the campus extensively for McRae after the two shooting incidents, but he was able to leave before they arrived. They made public two CCTV images of McRae around 11 p.m. as more and more law enforcement units showed up in East Lansing to help with the hunt.
After a tip from a watchful community member who noticed the photo of the potential shooter and reported it to police, McRae was eventually located. Rozman declared that a search warrant had been used to enter a house connected to the shooter suspect.
Police are still unsure of the motive for McRae’s shooting of MSU students.
According to information obtained by FOX 2, McRae was previously convicted of a felony firearm charge for having a loaded gun in June 2019. He was apprehended after being discovered in Lansing walking close to an abandoned structure.
He acknowledged owning a firearm and claimed he lacked a licence to carry a concealed weapon. When questioned by police, he claimed that he was carrying the revolver because he was walking to the store to buy smokes and was concerned for his safety.
He ultimately entered a guilty plea to the allegation of possessing a loaded handgun and was given a probationary period from October 2019 to May 2021.
At 11:35 p.m., officers in the city of Lansing came across McRae, who had turned his revolver on himself.
Rozman declined to provide further specifics about the conversation but noted that the institution was still studying crime scenes.
He did state that a weapon had been found.
