On the evening of Monday, February 14, 2023, multiple law enforcement agencies responded to Michigan State University after shots were fired in two separate locations. The campus, located in Lansing, a city about 150km west of Detroit, was the site of a violent shooting that left three people dead and at least five others with life-threatening injuries.
The man suspected of carrying out the massacre, identified by Fox News as Anthony McRae, 43, had a list of previous convictions, including a firearms offense. Police later reported that he was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
According to the Michigan Department of Corrections, McRae had several previous run-ins with the law. From 2006 to 2008, he accrued four counts of driving with a suspended license. However, the most serious charge was in 2019 when he was found with a loaded weapon near an abandoned building. He pleaded guilty to carrying a gun without a concealed weapons permit and satisfactorily completed his probation. He was placed on probation from October 2019 to May 2021.
At this time, police have not identified the victims of the shooting and say that they have no idea what the motive was for the attack. The shooter had no known connection to the college, according to a statement released by law enforcement officials.
Michigan State University has an enrollment of over 50,000 students, and several remain in lockdown after the incident. University police on Monday night sent out an alert warning the campus community to “Run, Hide, Fight.” This advice was in accordance with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s recommendations for responding to an active shooter situation. “Run means evacuate away from danger if you can do so safely, Hide means to secure-in-place, and Fight means protect yourself if no other option,” the message said.
Blake Maday, a Michigan State University student, said that students were sheltered inside after the emergency warning. “Everyone is barricaded in their places with lights out,” Maday told Fox News Digital. “Students are sending in all types of reports and it seems like people are sending the police on a wild-goose chase with nothing confirmed.”
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer tweeted her condolences and said that she had been briefed by Michigan State Police about the shooting. “Let’s wrap our arms around the Spartan community tonight,” she wrote.
Officer Chris Rozman, the Michigan State University Police Deputy Chief, said the lockdown was lifted around 12:30 a.m. local time. “This truly has been a nightmare that we are living tonight, but we have remained laser-focused on the safety of our students,” he said. “We are relieved to no longer have an active threat on campus, while we realize there is so much healing that will need to take place. I can only imagine how parents are feeling right now.”
