Sandy MaloneEast Lansing, MI – Michigan State University (MSU) police have confirmed that three people were killed, another five were wounded, and the gunman is dead after a mass shooting at Michigan State University on Monday night.
“There are 3 confirmed fatalities. This is in addition to the 5 victims who have been transported to the hospital,” the university’s police department posted to social media early on Tuesday morning, according to the Lansing State Journal.
Hundreds of local, state, and federal law enforcement officers had responded to the campus to assist in the search for the gunman.
MSU Interim Deputy Chief Chris Rozman told reporters during a media briefing shortly after midnight on Feb. 14 that the gunman had been found dead, suffering from what was believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
#BREAKING#MSU UPDATE Police: "The suspect in this incident was located and it does appear that the suspect has died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. It is confirmed he is deceased. There is no longer a threat to campus. There is no longer a need to shelter in place on campus." pic.twitter.com/O3LlXaJoV2
— Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) February 14, 2023
Deputy Chief Rozman said a bag had been found near the suspect’s body but wouldn’t say what had been found inside it.
Scanner traffic from the scene indicated officers had found a second gun and more ammunition inside the suspect’s bag.
Moments just after the #michiganstate shooter takes his own life captured on police scanner in #EastLansingMI at #MSU. Police performing CPR but suspect has no pulse, found additional weapons and ammo magazines in backpack the shooter was carrying pic.twitter.com/F9cjja7bFB
— Michael St.Clair (@SirStClair) February 14, 2023
🚨#BREAKING: Police scanners are now reporting a man matching the description of the on campus shooter at Michigan State University (MSU) is receiving CPR. He reportedly shot himself as police were approaching. pic.twitter.com/J9qcBGfjlS
— CCG Cameron (@CameronJGilliam) February 14, 2023
The deputy chief refused to say how many of the victims were students or faculty because families were still being notified, and said some of the victims had yet to be officially identified.
Officials also have not yet released the name of the shooter but Deputy Chief Rozman told reporters police had had an earlier encounter with him.
UPDATE: The suspect has been located off campus. It appears he has died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. There is no longer a threat to campus and the shelter-in-place has been lifted. pic.twitter.com/6s2KGvoKpV
— MSU Police and Public Safety (@msupolice) February 14, 2023
The police official warned that there had been multiple inaccurate reports in the news and on social media about how many victims had been shot and how many places on campus the gunman had opened fire.
“There has been shots fired and a shooting in multiple locations near campus,” he said, but cautioned the community to wait for the MSU Police Department to release official and accurate information.
Deputy Chief Rozman said the incident began at about 8:18 p.m. on Feb. 13 when the first gunshots were fired inside Berkey Hall on the north end of campus near Grand River and Farm Lane, The Detroit News reported.
He told reporters that the first officers who responded to the report of shots fired at Berkey Hall quickly found multiple victims at the scene.
The deputy chief said another shooting was reported inside the MSU student union immediately after the gunfire at Berkey Hall.
Officials said police were on the scene within minutes of gunfire erupting.
Witnesses said police swarmed that scene with weapons drawn but the gunman had already fled, The Detroit News reported.
Deputy Chief Rozman said surveillance cameras in a campus building captured video of the suspect, and pictures of the suspect were quickly circulated on social media.
“We believe there to be one suspect,” he explained at a briefing less than an hour before the gunman was found dead. “He was last seen leaving the MSU union on foot on the north side of that building.”
The preliminary description of the suspect was that of a short black man who was wearing a mask, red shoes, a jean jacket, and a ball cap, and the police official confirmed the suspect who had been found dead matched that description.
The deputy chief said officials’ first priority now was the safety of the students and staff on the MSU campus and said the university had quickly activated the emergency notification system when the gunfire started.
Classes have been cancelled on campus for at least the next 48 hours and anyone who isn’t presently at the university has been asked to wait to return to campus until after law enforcement has given the all-clear signal.
Deputy Chief Rozman asked students, faculty and staff to continue to shelter-in-place while officers “methodically” work to clear the buildings one-by-one, and asked that parents not to come to the campus to attempt to retrieve their children from the university.
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Holly Matkin
