Late Monday night, tragedy struck the Michigan State University campus when a gunman, identified as Anthony Dwayne McRae, shot and killed three students and injured five more.
The victims were identified as Brian Fraser, Arielle Anderson, and Alexandria Verner. The five wounded students remain in critical condition.
According to authorities, McRae, 43, had a history of mental health struggles and had once been on probation for a gun offense.
Michigan State University's deadly shooting
According to USA Today, on Monday (February 13) at 8:18 P.M., authorities received multiple calls reporting a shooting at Berkey Hall on the campus of Michigan State University.
Police officers arrived at the scene within minutes, in an absolutely overwhelming response, according to witnesses.
A campus lockdown and a three-hour search for the shooter followed, during which two people were killed, several others were injured at Berkey Hall, and another person was killed at the student union.
Campus Police Deputy Chief Chris Rozman confirmed the details of the incident, stating that the gunman fled the scene after the shootings, and police had no idea where he was during the first three hours of searching for the suspect.
The shooter, identified as McRae, was captured on school security cameras. His image was soon sent to news media at 11:15 P.M. A citizen in the Lansing area spotted him and notified police, who found McRae in an industrial area about 5 miles from campus.
In a confrontation with the police, McRae shot himself, four hours after the first shots were reported. The police announced the man's death. The reason for the shootings is yet unknown.
Rozman stated that investigators were still looking into why McRae fired inside the Berkey Hall academic building and the student union, as there is no apparent connection between the shooter and the university.
He emphasized that McRae was not a student or a Michigan State employee, leaving authorities puzzled as to why he targeted the campus.
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Michigan State University's shooting victims
The three students killed in the shooting have been identified as Alexandria Verner, a junior from Clawson; Brian Fraser, a sophomore from Grosse Pointe; and Arielle Anderson, also from Grosse Pointe.
NBC News reported that Alexandria Verner was a highly accomplished student and athlete, having played Volleyball, basketball, and softball throughout her four years of high school. She was also known to be a leader and positively impacted those around her.
On the other hand, Brian Fraser was a student leader on campus and served as the president of the Michigan Beta Chapter of Phi Delta Theta at Michigan State University.
He was described as a great friend to his fraternity brothers and the larger Greek community at Michigan State. Fraser's father, Sean Fraser, said his son was a good kid everyone loved.
Arielle Anderson had dreams of becoming a doctor, specifically a pediatrician. Her uncle, Tim Davis, described her as kind-hearted, respectful, and a straight-A student.
He added that her death was a great loss for the family and the community.
According to CNN, East Lansing Mayor Ron Bacon has called for legislative action in the wake of the shooting, including measures to make it more difficult for dangerous individuals to obtain weapons.
The shooting at MSU is the 67th mass shooting in 2023, and it occurred just hours before the fifth anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.
