Michigan State shooter who killed 3 students, injured 5 identified as Anthony McRae

Arielle Anderson, Alexandria Verner, and Brian Fraser where shot and killed on Michigan State University's campus on Monday evening.

Three Michigan State University students -- an aspiring pediatrician, a fraternity president, and a tremendous student who "exemplified kindness every day of her life" -- were shot and killed Monday evening on campus.

The school identified them on Tuesday as Alexandria Verner, a junior from Clawson; Arielle Anderson, a sophomore from the Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe; and Brian Fraser, a sophomore also from Grosse Point. 

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Anthony McRae in a booking photo after his arrest in 2019. (Ingham County Prosecutor's Office)

Anthony McRae, identified by police as the Michigan State University gunman, was charged with carrying a concealed weapon without a permit in 2019, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, according to Ingham County court records.

In October 2019, that felony count was dropped after McRae pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle, a misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison.

McRae was sentenced to probation, which ended in May 2021.

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This booking photo provided by Michigan Department of Corrections shows Anthony McRae, the gunman accused of opening fire on Michigan State University's campus on Monday evening. (Michigan Department of Corrections via AP)

The brother of Michigan State University gunman Anthony McRae said Tuesday that McRae "changed" after their mom died in September 2020 and stopped taking care of himself.

"He lived a sheltered world," Michael McRae told Fox News Digital on Tuesday afternoon. "He started changing. He was getting more and more bitter and angry. I'm asking him, ‘What’s on your mind?' But he wouldn't talk to me."

McRae opened fire inside an academic hall on campus on Monday evening, killing three students and critically wounding five others, according to police.

He was located off-campus deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after an hours-long manhunt.

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Students gather where flowers are being left at the Spartan Statue on the grounds of Michigan State University, in East Lansing, Mich., Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Michigan State University police identified the third student who was killed in Monday's shooting as Arielle Anderson, a junior from the Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe.

Brian Fraser, a sophomore also from Grosse Point, and Alexandria Verner, a junior from Clawson, were previously identified as the other two deceased victims.

Jon Dean, the superintendent of the Grosse Pointe Public School System, said that he first learned about the shooting while at a school board meeting on Monday evening.

"How is this possible? How is this possible that this happened in the first place?An act of senseless violence that has no place in our society and in particular no place in school,” Dean said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Michigan State University students arrive to place flowers at The Rock on campus, Tuesday, Feb. 14, in East Lansing, Michigan.

President Biden released a statement Tuesday saying he and First Lady Jill Biden are "praying for the three students killed and the five students fighting for their lives after last night’s shooting at Michigan State University. 

"Our hearts are with these young victims and their families, the broader East Lansing and Lansing communities, and all Americans across the country grieving as the result of gun violence," Biden said.

Biden says he has spoken with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and "directed the deployment of all necessary federal law enforcement to support local and state response efforts."

"Too many American communities have been devastated by gun violence," Biden continued. "I have taken action to combat this epidemic in America, including a historic number of executive actions and the first significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years, but we must do more."

"The fact that this shooting took place the night before this country marks five years since the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, should cause every American to exclaim 'enough' and demand that Congress take action," Biden also said.

The Michigan State University Department of Police and Public Safety has identified two of the students killed in Monday night's campus shooting as Brian Fraser, a sophomore from Grosse Pointe, and Alexandria Verner, a junior from Clawson.

"With respect to the family’s wishes, we will not be releasing the third victim’s name at this time," the department said in a statement.

The Michigan State gunman had a note in his pocket "indicating a threat" to two New Jersey schools when he killed himself following a deadly shooting spree at the university, police said.

Anthony McRae, 43, killed three MSU students and critically wounded five others when he opened fire on the East Lansing campus at 8:30 p.m. Monday, which sparked a tense and chaotic manhunt that ended about four hours later when police found McRae with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

Officers found a note in his pocket about a threat to two public schools in Ewing, New Jersey, which were closed Tuesday and guarded by a heavy police presence "out of an abundance of caution," according to a statement by the Ewing Police Department. 

Details about what was written on the note weren't released, but police said there's no threat to the New Jersey communities. 

McRae has ties to Ewing Township, but hasn't lived in the area for several years, police said.

Investigators indicated McRae has a history of mental illness, and officers told 911 dispatchers that they were called for a welfare check for him last week. 

Lansing police declined to provide details about the welfare check, telling Fox News Digital in an email, "His history is part of the investigation, so we cannot comment at this time."

Michigan state House Majority Leader Ranjeev Puri, a Democrat, (C) with Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer (R) and Lt. Governor Garlan Gilchrist (L). (Twitter/Screenshot | Ranjeev Puri)

A high-ranking Michigan state House Democrat said "f--- your thoughts and prayers" after the deadly mass shooting at Michigan State University.

Michigan state House Majority Leader Ranjeev Puri issued his official statement on Tuesday morning following the Monday night shooting at the state university.

"F--- your thoughts and prayers," Puri started his statement in the wake of three deaths and five injuries in the shooting.

"I want to extend my deepest condolences to the Michigan State University community, who are experiencing unimaginable trauma and grief after a shooter opened fire at multiple locations across Michigan State’s campus," Puri said.

"What happened in East Lansing is unfortunately far too common," the Democrat state lawmaker said. "Going to school in America, whether its pre-school or college, means risking your life every day to the threat of a mass shooting."

"Yet all we have offered up are empty solutions — traumatizing active shooter drills and bulletproof backpacks," Puri added.

The Michigan Democrat wrote that Americans "do not need to live like this" and claimed that the U.S. "is the only country where this happens."

Puri said "mass shootings have left us desensitized, waking up each day to a seemingly never-ending horrific cycle of gun violence" and that living "in a society plagued with gun violence can be prevented."

"Thoughts and prayers without action and change are meaningless," the Michigan House Democrat whip said. "Our office will continue to work tirelessly to pass common sense gun reform immediately."

Magic Johnson attends the Elite Eight game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Duke Blue Devils on March 31, 2019, at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. (Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Spartans alum Magic Johnson is tweeting his condolences to those affected by the Michigan State University shooting.

"Cookie & I are devastated to hear about the news of a shooting on Michigan State’s campus," Johnson wrote. "We are praying for the victims, their families, students, faculty, employees & administration."

He added: "This is such a tragic situation & our hearts go out to the MSU community, all of Lansing and East Lansing!"

Johnson starred at his hometown school for three years before he was the first overall pick in the 1979 NBA Draft – he won the national title just a few months before, and his number 33 is retired by the university.

Former Spartans running back Le'Veon Bell also sent a message on Twitter, writing "Prayers for MSU." 

Bell played at Michigan State from 2010 to 2012, and was drafted the next year.

The FBI's Detroit Field Office says it and the Michigan State University Department of Police and Public Safety "are asking anyone with photos or video surrounding the active shooter incident or the suspect at the Michigan State University campus on February 13, 2023" to submit them as part of the investigation.

A worker cleans up outside Berkey Hall at Michigan State University on Tuesday. (AP/Carlos Osorio)

Claire Papoulias, a Michigan State University sophomore, told NBC's "Today" Show Tuesday that she thought she was "going to die" as the shooting unfolded.

"I could hear gunshots like directly behind my head and I could see the smoke, like gunpowder or something from that weapon firing and then I could smell -- and immediately I dropped to the floor with all my classmates and someone was yelling that there was a shooter and everybody needed to get down on the ground," she said. "And at that moment I thought that I was going to die."

"After I heard those gunshots my classmates in the back of the classroom started to scream for help and my other classmates jumped into action trying to help everyone," Papoulias continued. "If it weren't for my classmates helping everyone I don't think that we would have all made it because immediately someone was like 'we need to break open this window.'"

"The shooter, he came in through the back door... and he just started attacking people and I will never forget the screams of my classmates, they were screaming in pain for help," she added. "After they got the window open, they started to guide people through."

It is not immediately clear what caused gunman Anthony McRae to leave Berkey Hall and head to the school's student union, where he also opened fire.

"There was a boy in my class and he was waiting outside the window and he was catching people and helping people down," Papoulias also said. "I just grabbed my backpack and my phone, and I remember I just ran for my life. I didn't know where the guy was."

Anthony McRae was on probation for 18 months until May 2021 for possessing a loaded, concealed gun without a permit, according to Michigan's Corrections Department.

Police confronted McRae about 5 miles from campus in an industrial area, where he killed himself following Monday night's shooting, investigators say.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Michigan State University suspect Anthony McRae in seen in surveillance footage from the crime scene on Feb. 13, 2023. (MSU Police)

A tip from a member of the public led Lansing law enforcement to the man who opened fire on Michigan State University, killing three students and critically wounding five more, police revealed Tuesday.

Anthony McRae, 43, was located "shortly after" the on-campus shooting, and was found to have died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in an off-campus area within hours. 

"It was a caller’s tip that led law enforcement to that suspect in the city of Lansing," Michigan State University Police and Public Safety Deputy Chief Chris Rozman said Tuesday. 

Investigators began scouring surveillance footage as the bloodshed unfolded Monday night, and quickly located an image of the suspect, which they then immediately disseminated to the public, Rozman told reporters during a Tuesday morning press conference. 

"It was shortly after we released it that he was recognized by an alert citizen," Rozman said. "And that was exactly what we were trying to achieve by releasing that picture, was to generate immediate tips for this person that was mobile, that we had no idea where he was at that point."

A doctor broke down in tears while providing updates on the five wounded victims of Monday's mass shooting on Michigan State University's campus on Tuesday morning.

Dr. Denny Martin, the acting president and chief medical officer for E.W. Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, said five individuals were brought there. Four required surgeries and one did not. 

All five individuals remain in critical condition as of Tuesday morning.

"This is something we talked about this morning that we practice for very often but never want to have to do, and we did it amazing as well" Martin said, becoming emotional as he thanked the first responders and medical staff. 

"We can't forget we had general surgeons and cardiothoracic surgeons, neurosurgeons who didn't get a lot of sleep last night," he continued through sobs. "So many people that just came in, we received a lot of texts that were just, you know, ‘I’m on my way,' — just with people showing up where they needed to be. It was a sad but very proud night for all of us here." 

Dr. Marc Siegel says a doctor treating the victims of the mass shooting, who got emotional during a press conference earlier this morning, is "feeling the terror and the horror of students at this age being victimized like this."

Surveillance footage showing Michigan State University shooter Anthony McRae. (MSU Police & Public Safety/LOCAL NEWS X/TMX)

Michigan State University Police Deputy Chief Chris Rozman said Tuesday "we are still working to determine place or hometown and residence for the suspect."

Anthony McRae, 43, was identified moments ago by Rozman as the shooter. 

McRae was found dead after the shooting from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police say.

Three MSU students were killed and five are in critical condition following the shooting that unfolded around 8 p.m. Monday night on the East Lansing campus.

Michigan State University Police Deputy Chief Chris Rozman told reporters Tuesday that "We have absolutely no idea what the motive was at this point" for the mass shooting Monday night.

"We can confirm that the 43-year-old suspect had no affiliation to the university," he said. "He was not a student, faculty, staff, current or previous."

"So that's an unknown right now. And that's what we're trying to understand is why this incident occurred," Rozman added. "I know everybody wants to know what the motive is. We don't have an answer right now. And that's that's the honest truth."

Students get directions from police on the campus of Michigan State University after a shelter in place order was lifted early Tuesday, Feb. 14. (AP/Al Goldis)

Michigan State University Police Deputy Chief Chris Rozman told reporters Tuesday that "at this point, we have no additional information on the actual weapon that was used in the incident. 

"Those are things that we will continue to process and look at today as part of our investigation," he added. "We did recover a weapon."

Police investigate the scene of a shooting at Berkey Hall on the campus of Michigan State University, late Monday, Feb. 13, in East Lansing, Michigan. (AP/Al Goldis)

Michigan State University Police Deputy Chief Chris Rozman identified the shooter Tuesday as Anthony McRae, 43.

Police say he was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound following the attack.

"It was a caller's tip that led law enforcement to that suspect in the city of Lansing," Rozman said.

"We cannot thank the public in the community and the person who called in that report enough for being observant, for following our messaging and for being vigilant in contacting us immediately," he added.

Michigan State University Police Deputy Chief Chris Rozman said Tuesday that all of the victims in the mass shooting at the school Monday night were students there.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., addresses the media, Tuesday, Feb. 14, in East Lansing, Michigan. (AP/Carlos Osorio)

Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, D-Michigan, said Tuesday that "as the representative of Oxford, Michigan, I cannot believe that I am here again doing this 15 months later.

In November 2021, four students were killed in a shooting at Oxford High School outside of Detroit.

"I am filled with rage that we have to have another press conference to talk about our children being killed in their schools," Slotkin said.

"And I would say that you either care about protecting kids or you don't. You either care about having an open, honest conversation about what is going on in our society or you don't," Slotkin continued.

"But please don't tell me you care about the safety of children if you're not willing to have a conversation about keeping them safe in a place that should be a sanctuary," she added.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and officials provide updates at a news conference regarding the shooting that took place on the campus of Michigan State University. (WJBK)

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Tuesday that mass shootings are a "uniquely American problem."

"Today is the fifth anniversary of the Parkland shooting," she said. "We're mere weeks past the Lunar New Year shooting at a dance hall and a few months past the shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde."

"And looking back at a year marked by shootings at grocery stores, parades and so many other ordinary, everyday situations," she continued. "We cannot keep living like this. Our children are scared to go to school."

"As parents, we tell our kids it's going to be okay. We say that all the time," Whitmer also said. "But the truth is, words are not good enough. We must act and we will."

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Tuesday that “We mourn the loss of beautiful souls today and pray for those who are continuing to fight for their lives.  

“Every Spartan student, parent and staff member should know that Michiganders and Americans everywhere are thinking of you today,” she said during a press conference. “President Biden and I spoke last night. He pledged his support and the thoughts of an entire nation.  

“We will work together to do what is necessary to help MSU community heal,” she added. 

Campus police are expected to provide an update at 8 a.m. ET on the mass shooting at Michigan State University.

Students gather on the campus of Michigan State University after a shelter in place order was lifted early Tuesday, Feb. 14, in East Lansing, Michigan. (AP/Al Goldis)

Michigan State University students are describing the tense scenes on campus Monday night as the mass shooting unfolded, with one saying he encountered a woman with “a ton of blood on her.” 

Ryan Kunkel, 22, was attending a class in the Engineering Building when he became aware of the shooting from a university email. Kunkel and about 13 other students turned off the lights and acted like there “was a shooter right outside the door,” he said. 

“Nothing came out of anyone’s mouth” for over four hours, he told The Associated Press. 

“I wasn’t ready to accept that this is really going on next door,” Kunkel said. “This is supposed to be a place where I’m coming, learning and bettering myself. And instead, students are getting hurt.” 

Campus police say two people were killed at Berkey Hall and another was killed at the MSU Union, while five people were in critical condition at Sparrow Hospital. The shooter eventually killed himself, police announced early Tuesday. 

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 AP. “Her hands were completely covered in blood. It was on her pants and her shoes. She said, ‘It’s my friend’s blood.’” 

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

Aedan Kelley, a junior who lives a half-mile east of campus, said he locked his doors and covered his windows “just in case.” Sirens were constant, and a helicopter hovered overhead. 

“It’s all very frightening,” Kelley said. “And then I have all these people texting me wondering if I’m OK, which is overwhelming.” 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

A tent covers the body of the alleged gunman, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, in Lansing, Mich., who opened fire Monday night at Michigan State University, killing three people and wounding five before fatally shooting himself. (AP/Carlos Osorio)

The five wounded victims in the shooting on Michigan State University's campus Monday night remain at Sparrow Hospital in critical condition, according to an announcement by Michigan State University Police and Public Safety early Tuesday morning.

The shooting inside an academic hall on university grounds also left three people dead.  

The gunman, identified by investigators as a 43-year-old Black male, is not affiliated with the university. He later was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound off the university's campus, according to police.

"This truly has been a nightmare that we are living tonight, but we have remained laser-focused on the safety of our campus, our students, and our surrounding community," Deputy Chief Chris Rozman said. 

The gunfire began around 8:18 p.m., inside Berkey Hall on the northern boundary of campus, prompting the school to send out a shelter-in-place order at 8:31 p.m.

After shots were fired inside Berkey Hall, the suspect walked to the MSU Union and opened fire, police said.

The University has canceled classes for today and tomorrow and are asking students to stay off campus Tuesday. 

Hundreds of officers from the FBI, ATF, Michigan State Police and other law enforcement agencies assisted local officials in securing the campus.