Michigan State University students are led to a safe area during an active shooter situation on campus in Lansing, Michigan, on Monday night. Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
Michigan State University police said a shooting in two locations around the school’s East Lansing campus on Monday night has left at least three people dead and five others hospitalized in critical condition.
The latest: Chris Rozman, an interim deputy chief of the campus police, said at a news conference early Tuesday that the 43-year-old suspect, who was later found dead off campus with suspected self-inflicted gunshot wounds, was not affiliated with the university. “We have no idea why he came to campus,” he said.
- Rozman said at a news conference just after midnight Tuesday, some four hours after the shooting began, there was no longer a threat to the campus.
- “We believe there to be only one shooter in this incident and there is no loner a need to shelter in place on campus,” he said.
- Rozman said two people were killed at Berkey Hall, home to the College of Social Science, Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, and the Department of Sociology at the campus, some 90 miles northwest of Detroit.
- A second shooting “immediately following the first incident” that occurred at the MSU student union left one person dead, he added.
The big picture: Police received reports of a shooting at 8.18pm and officers responded within minutes, Rozman said. Hundreds of officers were involved in the search for the suspect.
- MSU police tweeted soon after arriving on the scene that they were searching for a suspect who was “on foot“and urged people on campus to shelter in place. “We are still receiving multiple calls of an active shooter on campus,” they said.
- “Victims are currently being transported to Sparrow Hospital,” per an MSU police tweet. “Brody Hall, Snyder/Phillips Hall, Mason Hall, Abbot Hall, Landon Hall, the MSU Union, and Berkey Hall have all been cleared/secured.”
- Campus police tweeted a photo and description of the suspect moments after a news conference Rozman gave late Monday. He later confirmed that the body law enforcement officers found matched that photo.
Of note: The FBI’s Detroit office said on Monday night that it was assisting in the law enforcement response.
- The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Detroit tweeted moments earlier that it was “responding to an Active Shooter” on the campus.
What they’re saying: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement Monday night that she had been briefed on the shooting and that Michigan State Police along with MSU police, local law enforcement and first responders were on the ground.
- “Let’s wrap our arms around the Spartan community tonight,” Whitmer added. “We will keep everyone updated as we learn more.”
Editor’s note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
