Michigan State University Shooting

On February 13th, 2023 a mass shooting occurred on Michigan State University’s school campus in East Lansing Michigan with three people killed and five wounded. 

The victims of the shooting were identified as Arielle Anderson, Brian Fraser, and Alexandria Verner. The shooter was identified as 43-year-old man Anthony Dwayne McRae who had no affiliation with Michigan State according to AP News.  The incident was first reported at 8:18 p.m. at Berkey Hall according to Michigan State police. A shelter-in-place was immediately called for by Michigan State police. After the shooting, a manhunt then occurred and the suspect was found at 11:35 and later died from self-inflicted wounds.

Students at Central High School have expressed their care for the tragedy. Senior Laynie Ritchie said she heard about the shooting on social media. “I had a friend who was at the highland park shooting last summer and the thought of losing her was not fun for me, and I feel horrible for the people who have lost loved ones in school shootings,” Laynie said. She believes there should be stricter gun laws in the US to help stop school shootings.

Sophomores at Central Jack Levitan and Chloe Flynn were also saddened by the shooting. “It’s not the first time it’s happened this year, and it’s just sad to see,” Jack said. Chloe Flynn also had a similar response to the tragedy. “It’s horrible and sadly not the first time I’ve heard about a college shooting in over a month,” Chloe said. 

Over 50,000 students at Michigan State continue to mourn the tragedy that occurred on February 13th. After the incident, Michigan State canceled classes and sports events for the following week. The shooting has also started a fund called spartan strong to provide support to the needs of the people who were most closely affected. This includes counseling for students and staff and recognizing first responders to the incident. Spartan Strong shirts have been worn by people all over the country. At the Illinois men’s basketball game on February 20th, the Orange Krush Illinois’ student section wore Spartan Strong in support of Michigan State along with a moment of silence for the victims of the shooting. Other Big Ten Conference schools also did similar things in support of Michigan State.

Families and friends connected to the shooting continue to mourn the ones lost in this mass shooting as the motive is still under investigation. It is important that we as a country never forget events like this and always strive to look for solutions to mass shootings.