Michigan: Police identify killer of 3 at university

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The man who opened fire at Michigan State University, killing three students and wounding five, ultimately committed suicide, police said Tuesday.

Police identified him as Anthony McRae, 43. He said he killed himself with a gun several kilometers (miles) from campus during a confrontation with officers.

Authorities previously said he was neither a student nor an employee and had no connection to the university.

The shooting began Monday evening in a university building and continued in the student union, a place where many gather to eat or study. As hundreds of officers visited the East Lansing campus, about 145 kilometers northwest of Detroit, students sought refuge anywhere. Four hours after the first shots, the police announce the death of the man.

“It really is a nightmare tonight,” said Chris Rozman, acting deputy chief of the campus police department.

Dominik Molotky said he was in a Cuban history class around 8:15 p.m. when a gunshot was heard outside the classroom. He told ABC News that seconds later a gunman came in and fired three or four shots as the students tried to get to safety.

“I would stoop and cover myself, just like the other students. He fired four more times and when there was silence for about 30 seconds to a minute, two of my classmates started breaking a window. There was glass everywhere,” Molotky said. He said he climbed out the window and ran to his apartment, and he didn’t know if anyone was hurt in the classroom.

The shooting is the latest in what has become a deadly start to the year. Dozens of people have been killed in massacres so far in 2023, including in California, where 11 people were shot while celebrating Lunar New Year in a crowded dance hall of more Asian Americans aged.

Rozman said two people were killed at Berkley Hall and another at the student union. Five people were in critical condition at Sparrow Hospital.

Police eventually confronted the assailant, who died of a “self-inflicted gunshot wound”, Rozman said.

“We have no idea why he came to campus to do this tonight. This is part of our investigation,” he added.