The shooter who opened fire on the campus of Michigan State University Monday night, killing three people and wounding five, was found with two legally purchased guns, ammunition and a note threatening violence, officials said.
Anthony McRae, 43, was identified as the sole suspect in the shooting. The motive behind the violence is unclear, as officials said McRae had no apparent affiliation with MSU, and took his own life after the attack.
The shooter had two 9 mm handguns on him, as well as additional magazines and ammunition, Chris Rozman of MSU’s Department of Police and Public Safety said at a news conference Thursday.
An investigation with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determined those weapons were purchased legally by McRae, but they were not registered. It’s not clear when or where they were purchased.
He also confirmed a note was found on the shooter.
The three slain college students were identified as Alexandria Verner, 20, of Clawson, a junior; Brian Fraser, 20, of Grosse Pointe, a sophomore; and Arielle Anderson, 19, also of Grosse Pointe. The five injured victims, also students, remain in critical condition as of Thursday morning at E.W. Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, a hospital spokesperson said.
The wounded have not been identified.
The Chinese consulate in Chicago said two Chinese students were among the injured in the incident.
“After undergoing surgical treatment in the hospital, their lives are out of danger,” the consulate said in a statement noting their family members have been contacted.
The shooter’s final confrontation, search of his home
Officials on Thursday shared a breakdown of the final confrontation with the shooter.
Detectives responded to Lake Lansing Road and Larch Street where the suspect was observed walking and two Lansing Police Department officers made contact, approximately 20 feet from him, Michigan State Police Lt. Rene Gonzalez said.
They exited their vehicle and ordered him to show his hands.
“However, he produced a weapon and killed himself,” Gonzalez said.
Body camera video showed that McRae didn’t verbalize anything to the officers before dying by suicide, he said.
A search warrant was secured for McRae’s residence and a cellphone was collected, along with “journals of sorts,” miscellaneous writings and fired 9 mm shell casings, Gonzalez said.
Michigan State Police did not share exactly what the note found said, but it threatened businesses, a church and a school district in New Jersey.
“Through our investigation, we found that he had contact with some of those places, he was an employee of the Meyer warehouse at one time. And a couple of the other businesses, it appears that he had some issues with the employees there where he was asked to leave. So it looks like he, possibly a motive for that was he felt slighted and that’s kind of what the note indicated,” Gonzalez said.
MSU classes are suspended through Sunday.
Berkey Hall, the first site of the Monday shooting, will remain closed for the remainder of the semester. Union Hall is still being evaluated for decisions to be reported later, Interim president at MSU President Teresa K. Woodruff said.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
