2023 Michigan State University shooting

Berkey Hall, where the first shootings took place, with police tape a day after the shooting

At 8:18 p.m. EST on February 13, 2023, Michigan State University Police and Public Safety reported that shots were fired in Berkey Hall on Michigan State University's campus.[1][2][3][4] The gunman,[5] later identified as Anthony McRae,[6] shot and killed two people in Berkey Hall, before leaving the building.[5] McRae entered at least two classrooms, while students barricaded doors, took shelter, and broke windows to evacuate.[7] MSU officials sent an alert tweet and text. Students were directed to, "run, hide, fight."[8] A shelter-in-place order was subsequently issued.[9]

McRae left Berkey Hall and went to the MSU Union building, where he killed a third person; five others were injured between the two locations.[5][10] McRae was then seen leaving the north side of the Union, near the campus border. East Lansing residents living near campus were also asked to shelter in place.[11]

Police responded to the call within minutes of the shooting taking place. There was a coordinated effort of local, state, and federal law enforcement with hundreds of officers assisting,[12] as well as other emergency services. Approximately 30 fire engines, ambulances, and other emergency vehicles were present by the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum on Grand River Avenue in downtown East Lansing.[10]

McRae later died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at around 11:35 p.m.[13] after he was confronted by police off campus,[14][15] in Lansing.[13] Authorities recovered a weapon, but as of February 14, they had not determined if it was the one used in the shooting.[16]

All eight victims of the shooting were Michigan State students.[17] Three were killed: Arielle Diamond Anderson, a junior from Grosse Pointe, Michigan; Brian Fraser, a sophomore and Phi Delta Theta chapter president from Grosse Pointe; and Alexandria Verner, a junior from Clawson, Michigan.[18][19][20]

Another five students were injured in the shooting; some of these injuries were life-threatening.[21][22] Four of the five injured victims required surgery, and one was taken directly to the ICU.[23] All five were in critical condition.[24] One of the injured victims has been identified as Guadalupe Huapilla-Perez, the child of a migrant worker family from south Florida.[25]

Mug shot from 2019 weapons arrest

Anthony Dwayne McRae (June 10, 1979 – February 13, 2023), a 43-year-old Lansing resident, was the gunman.[26] McRae had no known connection to the university. Born in Bear, Delaware and raised in Trenton, New Jersey,[6] and moved to Michigan in 2003.[27]

In June 2019, a Lansing police officer on patrol arrested McRae after McRae said that he was carrying a weapon – a loaded Ruger LCP .380 semi-automatic pistol – and did not have a concealed pistol license.[28] Initially charged with carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, a felony, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor unlawful possession of a loaded firearm as part of a plea agreement in November 2019.[29] He was originally sentenced to twelve months' probation, which was later extended to 18 months, and in May 2021, he was discharged from probation.[26] Because McRae was not convicted of a felony, his ban on possessing weapons ended with the end of his probation.[30]

McRae's father said his son had anger issues, and, after the death of his mother in 2020, he became reclusive and socially isolated and "started to get evil and mean, and he didn't care about anything anymore." He described his son as "evil angry." According to the father, McRae had worked for about seven years at a warehouse loading trucks but quit his job shortly after his mother's death.[28] McRae's sister, who had not seen McRae since her mother's funeral in 2020, described her brother as socially isolated and hostile, and often transient. At the time of the shooting, McRae lived in his father's home in Lansing.[26]

A note found in McRae's pocket indicated that he planned to attack two New Jersey public schools.[31]

The Rock painted as a memorial to victims of the shooting

The shelter-in-place order was rescinded following the gunman's death.[32][33] All MSU activities were canceled for 48 hours,[34] and classes were canceled until the following Monday.[35] The following day, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer ordered all flags in Michigan to be flown at half-staff in honor of the victims.[36]

The Rock was painted to commemorate the victims with "How many more?" written in red paint and flowers were left at both it and the Sparty statue at the football stadium.[37] The following day this was repainted with a pro-gun message "Allow us to defend ourselves & carry on campus". In a break with tradition that the Rock should not be repainted on a single day, this message was painted over and replaces with "To those we lost. To those healing. Brian. Arielle. Alexandria."[38] The Rock was painted a third time that day by Detroit-based artist Anthony Lee at the university's request. Lee's artwork included the Spartan logo and the message "Always a Spartan. Brian. Arielle. Alexandria."[39]

The city of East Lansing closed all city offices and canceled a city council meeting on February 14,[40] and continued to operate on a limited basis on February 15.[25] School districts close to the university also canceled their classes the day after the shooting; they included the Webberville Community Schools, Lansing Public Schools, Haslett, and East Lansing Public schools.[41] Schools in Ewing Township, New Jersey, near Trenton where McRae grew up, were also closed out with an abundance of caution after it was found that McRae was carrying a note threatening two Ewing Public Schools.[42]

Counseling services were offered to members of the East Lansing and Michigan State communities at Hannah Community Center in East Lansing from February 14,[40] with additional on-campus locations being added the following day.[43] Memorials and vigils for the victims were planned for the victims across Michigan with some also offering the ability to write letters to MSU students or representatives, and interact with comfort dogs.[44] Shortly after the shooting, GoFundMe launched a hub of verified fundraisers that would benefit those impacted by the shooting.[45]

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, an internet hoax that misidentified the perpetrator spread on social media prior to McRae being identified as the perpetrator.[46][47][48]

United States President Joe Biden expressed condolences, and called for gun control. Biden noted that he was speaking on the fifth anniversary of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.[49]

Whitmer and several Michigan members of Congress expressed condolences. Whitmer also expressed concern about gun violence, calling it a "uniquely American problem" and living with such a potential threat was not sustainable.[50][51] Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson described the incident as "unfathomable" and proceeded to call for greater action targeting gun violence.[52]

Ingham County government issued a statement, including. "Ingham County is deeply saddened by the tragic shooting that took place on the campus of Michigan State University last night. We sincerely thank all our first responders and healthcare workers who quickly and bravely responded to protect and care for those in need during this time of crisis." "Gun violence, including the senseless act seen last night, is complex and deeply rooted in our culture which is why we must take a public health approach,’ said Linda Vail, Ingham County Health Officer.[53]

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel wrote in a statement that "The events at Michigan State University are a tragedy for the entire state of Michigan. My thoughts are with the victims, their families, friends, and loved ones."[54] She told CNN in an interview that she was "not sure why" McRae's probation had been extended multiple times. She noted that the shooting had left "a lot of unanswered questions. And we're going to be digging deep into this to find out."[55]

Representative Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), expressed outrage at the lack of change since the 2021 Oxford High School shooting, stating "As the representative of Oxford, Michigan, I cannot believe that I am here again doing this 15 months later...And I would say that you either care about protecting kids or you don't."[50] Michigan House of Representatives member Ranjeev Puri released a statement which included the phrase "Fuck your thoughts and prayers."[56][57][58]

Many students and parents expressed their fear and anxiety about the shooting and trying to find out friends and loved ones' statuses, stating that it felt surreal and unimaginable.[59] Some students held a sit-down protest at the Michigan Capitol two days after the shooting, and pushed for legislation and commonsense gun laws with Slotkin, Nessel, state Senator Winnie Brinks, and state House Speaker Joe Tate in attendance.[60]

Some students who were on campus at the time of the shooting were either impacted or survivors of other mass shootings; some had survived the Oxford High School shooting, and another student had been put on lockdown at her school in Newtown, Connecticut during the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.[61][62] Emma Riddle was a senior at Oxford High when four classmates were killed.[63] Jackie Matthews posted a TikTok video that went viral, saying: “The fact that this is the second mass shooting that I have now lived through is incomprehensible."[64] Matthews, 21, recalled how she huddled in a corner with classmates at a nearby Newtown school on December 14, 2012, as 20 students and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School were killed. Crouching for a prolonged period of time, Murphy said she developed a PTSD fracture in her right lower back that continues to bother her “anytime I am in stressful situations or when anything occurs that's aggressive like that."[65]

• List of school-related attacks
• List of school shootings in the United States (2000–present)
• List of mass shootings in the United States in 2023
• List of school shootings in the United States by death toll