At least three people were killed and another five people were shot in multiple locations on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing on Monday evening, and as of the time of publication the suspect is still not in custody.
Police say the first reports of shots fired came in around 8:18 p.m. from Berkey Hall. As authorities rushed to the scene, reports of additional shots fired came in from another building nearby, and police found multiple victims at both scenes.
“Some of those victims do have life-threatening injuries,” MSU Interim Police Chief Chris Rozman said at an 11 p.m. news conference.
The lone gunman remained at large, Rozman said.
Rozman urged students and East Lansing residents who live near campus to remain sheltered in place.
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Gunshots reportedly were later heard at nearby Snyder-Phillips Hall, where police began swarming the building with guns drawn. IM East was investigated afterward, according to MSU police.
Rozman said there were multiple false reports of gun fire at other buildings across campus.
MSU spokeswoman Emily Guerrant initially said there was one fatality from the shooting inside Berkey Hall, which houses the College of Social Science, the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research and the Department of Sociology, according to MSU’s website. She later said there were “unknown fatalities.”
Five shooting victims were transported to nearby Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, hospital spokesman John Foren said.
There was no immediate information about their condition, Foren said.
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Text messages were also sent out to students on campus at about 8:30 p.m. Monday.
“Secure in place immediately,” the messages said. “Run, hide, fight.”
Fight back, but not with a firearm. Michigan doesn’t have a campus carry law, which means that lawful concealed carry is prohibited on campus. Not that it mattered to the suspect, who appears to be carrying a handgun in the surveillance photo released by police on Monday night.
SUSPECT PHOTOS: The suspect is a Black male, shorter in stature, red shoes, jean jacket, wearing a baseball cap that is navy with a lighter brim. pic.twitter.com/9blppnX5U3
— MSU Police and Public Safety (@msupolice) February 14, 2023
UPDATE: There are 3 confirmed fatalities. This is in addition to the 5 victims who have been transported to the hospital. pic.twitter.com/on3iPHhsfK
— MSU Police and Public Safety (@msupolice) February 14, 2023
Students have been told to shelter-in-place, but some have expressed frustration with the rampant rumors on social media that have made it difficult to understand what’s actually happening.
Max Dutra and his housemates spent much of Monday night huddled in the basement of their rental house near Michigan State University’s campus, watching television and listening to a police scanner, trying to make sense of the chaos happening on campus.
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“It’s really hard to get a grip on, if I’m being honest,” said Durta, a senior. “We’re kind of all just sitting here trying to do what we can to make sure that everybody is okay. We have all been texting our friends and people that we work with and people that we have classes with.”
“We’re all kind of horrified,” he said.
Hannah Brock left campus around 8 p.m., about half an hour before the first police alert went out.
She feels lucky, she said. She also feels “gutted for my fellow Spartans.”
“It’s very strange to be sitting in my apartment, listening to the police scanner and recognizing what they’re talking about,” she said. “It’s my home that they’re describing.”
Alyssa Murphy, an MSU sophomore who lives on campus in the Brody Square neighborhood, said she barricaded herself in her room and hid under her bed, in the dark, by herself when she heard the news. She is scared, she said, but praying that her friends are safe.
Tom Knighton will have an update on the shootings in the morning, and hopefully police will have taken the suspect into custody before he harms anyone else. Michigan lawmakers are already weighing in as well, and we’ll have more on the political response to the shooting coming up later on Tuesday.
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