MSU mass shooting: Suspect's handguns were legally purchased
Three students were killed and five others were injured in Monday's shooting.
Three students were killed and five others were injured when a gunman opened fire at two locations on Michigan State University's main campus in East Lansing on Monday night, police said.
After an hourslong manhunt, police found the suspect -- identified as 43-year-old Anthony McRae -- dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound off campus.
Four of the injured students were in critical condition and one was in stable condition on Thursday, officials said.
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Biden urges Congress to 'enact commonsense gun law reforms'
President Joe Biden said in a statement Tuesday, “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 noted that the Michigan State mass shooting came one night before the U.S. marked five years since the Parkland, Florida, high school massacre. In the Feb. 14, 2018 school shooting in Parkland, 17 students and staff were gunned down.
"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,” Biden said.
He stressed, “Congress must do something and enact commonsense gun law reforms, including requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, closing loopholes in our background check system, requiring safe storage of guns, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets. Action is what we owe to those grieving today in Michigan and across America.”
Timeline of the shooting
The first active shooter call came in at 8:18 p.m. from Berkey Hall, an academic building, and the university immediately told students to shelter in place, the Michigan State University Police Department said.
Shots were fired soon after at the student union.
At about 11 p.m., the suspected gunman was seen on campus security cameras, police said.
Images of the suspect were shared with the public at 11:18 p.m., police said.
At about 11:35 p.m., a caller’s tip led police to the suspect, authorities said.
Suspect had 2 guns, numerous magazines
The suspected shooter, 43-year-old Anthony Dwayne McRae, lived in Lansing, officials said.
The shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound as law enforcement was approaching, a law enforcement source briefed on the situation said.
The source added that a firearm was recovered at the scene, and a second firearm was found in a backpack along with numerous magazines.
McRae served 18 months in prison between 2019 and 2021 on a weapons charge for having a loaded weapon in his vehicle, according to Michigan’s Department of Corrections.
-ABC News’ Lucien Bruggeman, Luke Barr and Josh Margolin
Shock, fear, confusion at Michigan State
At Michigan State, students and staff are overcome with shock, fear and confusion, Lansing Mayor Andy Schor told ABC News’ “GMA3.”
“It's a terrible time. No mayor, no governor, no elected official ever wants to be up all night or wake up to a situation like this,” he said.
Schor said mental health resources are available.
Schor said the five injured students “are critical but stable.”
“It’s touch and go,” he said. “and the doctors are doing their best to work as aggressively as possible.”
No motive known
No motive is known, police said. The 43-year-old suspect, Anthony McRae, had no affiliation with MSU, university officials said.
After police released the suspect’s photo, a tip from a caller led authorities to finding him, officials said.
When he was confronted, he took his own life," Lansing Mayor Andy Schor told ABC News’ “GMA3.”
A search warrant has been executed at a home, police said.