Michigan State shooting – updates: Murdered victims named as chilling details around Anthony McRae revealed

Police say suspect was in contact with law enforcement before dying by suicide as victims Brian Fraser and Alexandria Verner are named

Michigan State University shooting: Three killed as suspect named

The 43-year-old man accused of killing three and wounding five in a shooting at Michigan State University before turning the gun on himself was found with a note detailing threats to two other schools, authorities say.

Police identified the gunman in Monday’s shooting as Anthony McRae. He is not believed to have any connection to MSU.

On Tuesday morning, reports claimed that a note was found with McRae’s body after he killed himself. The note allegedly indicated threats to two New Jersey schools.

Meanwhile, it emerged that McRae had been living with his father, had firearms convictions and was known for firing weapons on the property, according to neighbours.

The names of two of the three students who were killed have been released.

Brian Fraser was a sophomore at the school from Grosse Pointe, east of Detroit, and Alexandra Verner was a junior from Clawson, north of the city.

The name of the third victim will not be shared at the request of the family.

Key points

• Police identify gunman as 43-year-old Anthony McRae
• ‘Daughter escaped through a window’
• Gunman dead after shooting eight across two campus locations
• WATCH: Students flee as shooting erupts on MSU campus
• MSU students allowed to go home, as authorities lift campus lockdown

[14 February 2023 06:03 · Namita Singh]

Michigan State University shooting update: ‘Suspect is deceased'

“The suspect in the incident was located outside the MSU campus,” said Chris Rozman, interim deputy chief of the campus police department, while holding a joint press conference.

“And that suspect has died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Michigan State University interim deputy police chief Chris Rozman, center, joins law enforcement officials while addressing the media, Tuesday, 14 February2023 (AP)

“He is deceased”.

“This truly has been a nightmare we’re living tonight.”

[14 February 2023 06:18 · Namita Singh]

‘Too early to know motive’ of the shooter

Campus police said it was too early to know motive of the shooter in the Michigan State University shooting, adding that they are investigating if the man had some type of affiliation with the university. His name was not immediately released.

“There’s a lot that we don’t know at this point,” Chris Rozman said.

Two people were killed at Berkey and another was killed at the MSU Union, he said.

[14 February 2023 06:19 · Namita Singh]

Police confirm number of victims but won't yet share personal details

Police confirmed three fatalities in the shooting at the Michigan State University campus, adding that this is in addition to the five victims who were injured and transported to the hospital.

“Out of respect to the families, we continue with our active investigation, we cannot confirm personal information of any of the victims at this time.”

A stretcher is unloaded from an ambulance outside the Michigan State University Union following shootings on campus on Monday, 13 February 2023 (AP)

[14 February 2023 06:21 · Namita Singh]

Suspect 'contacted by law enforcement’

The suspect “was contacted by law enforcement off campus” at some point, said the campus police, adding, “that scene is being investigated as a crime scene.”

The gunman was confirmed dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound roughly four hours after the violence began, said Chris Rozman, deputy chief of the campus police department.

First responders are on the scene at Michigan State University following shootings on campus in East Lansing, Monday, 13 February2023 (AP)

“There is no longer a threat to campus. We believe there to be only one suspect in this incident,” he said.

[14 February 2023 06:43 · Namita Singh]

What we know about the shooter

The suspect believed to have shot eight people at Michigan State University has been found dead, police said in a midnight briefing. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after “contact” with police off campus, said the authorities.

“The suspect in the incident was located outside the MSU campus,” said Chris Rozman, interim deputy chief of the campus police department. “And that suspect has died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

The authorities did not disclose the name of the suspect, and said that it is too early to know the motive of the shooter.

This combination of images from surveillance video provided by Michigan State University Police and Public Safety show a suspect whom authorities are looking for in connection with multiple shootings at the university late Monday, 13 February 2023, in East Lansing (AP)

While the shooting incident was still active police released images of the suspect and described him as a “Black male, shorter in stature” wearing red shoes, a jeans jacket and a baseball cap.

Campus police said they were investigating if he had some type of affiliation with the university.

“There’s a lot that we don’t know at this point,” Mr Rozman said. The suspect “was contacted by law enforcement off campus” at some point, he said, adding, “that scene is being investigated as a crime scene.”

[14 February 2023 06:56 · Namita Singh]

Suspect identified as 43-year-old male

The suspected gunman behind Monday night’s mass shooting at Michigan State University has been described by police as a 43-year-old man with no known affiliation to the school.

Police announced that the suspect had died of a self-inflicted gunshot some four hours after the attack began, lifting a campus-wide lockdown.

[14 February 2023 07:01 · Namita Singh]

All five gunshot victims critical

All five victims at Sparrow Hospital are in critical condition, said the MSU police in an update on Twitter. “The suspect is a 43-year-old male and is not affiliated in any way with MSU.”

[14 February 2023 07:30 · Namita Singh]

In video: Suspect confirmed dead after three killed in Michigan State University shooting, police say

[14 February 2023 07:45 · Namita Singh]

Mass shooting: ‘A uniquely American problem’

The shooting at Michigan State is the latest in what has become a deadly new year in the US.

Dozens of people have died in mass shootings so far in 2023, most notably in California where 11 people were killed as they welcomed the Lunar New Year at a dance hall popular with older Asian Americans.

First responders are on the scene at Michigan State University following shootings on campus in East Lansing, Monday, 13 February 2023 (AP)

In 2022, there were more than 600 mass shootings in the US in which at least four people were killed or injured, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

“This is a uniquely American problem,” Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer lamented.

[14 February 2023 08:02 · Namita Singh]

Encountered a woman with ‘ton of blood on her’: Student recounts the shooting

Ted Zimbo said he was walking to his residence hall when he encountered a woman with a “ton of blood on her.”

“She told me, ‘Someone came in our classroom and started shooting,”’ Zimbo told the Associated Press. “Her hands were completely covered in blood. It was on her pants and her shoes. She said, ‘It’s my friend’s blood.”’

Emergency personnel respond to a shooting at Michigan State University (Reuters)

Zimbo said the woman left to find a friend’s car while he returned to his SUV in a parking deck and threw a blanket over himself to hide for three hours.