Students who do not want to return to the university should contact the Office of Student Support and Accountability, Jeitschko said.
Many students went home after the shooting unfolded Monday night, leaving the campus quiet. Others who remained on campus took comfort in each other and mourned the victims: Alexandria Verner of Clawson, a junior; Brian Fraser of Grosse Pointe, a sophomore; and Arielle Anderson, also of Grosse Pointe.
MSU paying for victims’ funerals, hospital bills
MSU paid for the victims’ funerals, and hospital bills for the injured students, through its Spartan Strong Fund, which has raised more than $250,000 in the wake of the shooting, according to Interim President Teresa K. Woodruff.
Funerals for Fraser and Verner were held Saturday, and Anderson’s funeral is slated for later this week.
Four of the injured students are in critical condition and one is in stable condition, Woodruff said Sunday. The wounded students have not been publicly identified.
The Chinese consulate in Chicago has said two Chinese students were among the injured.
Funds raised following the shooting have also been used to pay for counseling and campus safety enhancements, Woodruff added.
For now, that will include more police officers on campus, Chris Rozman, interim deputy chief of the MSU Police, said Sunday. Additional measures to be determined in the future could include updates to doors, access control on campus, and other physical security changes, Rozman added.
“We want to make sure anything we consider is appropriately vetted and considered and focuses on long-term comprehensive solutions and not just short-term solutions,” Rozman said.
The buildings the shooter entered had been unlocked and “open to the public” when the shooter entered, Rozman previously said.
Counselors and therapy dogs from across the state and country have also been available to facilitate students’ and faculty members’ long-term healing, according to Assistant Provost and Executive Director of Health and Wellbeing Alexis Travis.
Officials said they hoped the return to campus would also aid in the school community’s recovery.
“We also know that being in community is very important — being able to meet with your friends and meet with colleagues to talk about things is very important,” said Vennie Gore, senior vice president for student life and engagement.
“We want to reclaim our community, we want to reclaim our campus,” he added.
Jo Kovach, the student body president, said students are “scared, but absolutely ready to do what they can to make changes,” adding that students have been involved in organizing protests and sharing information on resources to support their peers’ healing.
Woodruff, the president, added: “We’re a community that is strong, not as a reaction but as a statement of purpose and principal.”
Motive remains unknown
The suspected shooter was identified as Anthony Dwayne McRae, 43, who was not affiliated with MSU and who killed himself as police were closing-in on him in the adjacent city of Lansing, according to Rozman.
He was found with two legally purchased guns, ammunition and a note threatening violence against businesses, a church and a school district in New Jersey, officials have said. The guns were not registered, according to an investigation with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has said a 2019 misdemeanor conviction for possession of a loaded firearm in or upon a vehicle left the suspect ineligible to have a gun, making it unclear how he obtained the weapons used in the shooting.
Authorities have said the motive in the shooting remains unknown. Officials have acknowledged that the suspect had a history of mental health issues, which is part of their investigation.
The FBI and the Michigan State University Department of Police and Public Safety asked that anyone with information submit it via an online form.
The suspect’s father, Michael McRae, previously told NBC News that his son became “evil and mean” and a loner after his mother, Linda McRae, died of a stroke in September 2020, but said that he did not have a history of violence.
Melissa Chan, Marlene Lenthang, Chantal Da Silva, Deon J. Hampton and Antonio Planas contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
