Suspect dead, 3 killed, 5 injured in Michigan State shooting: What we know
EDITOR'S NOTE: Please follow our latest updates here on the Michigan State University shooting.
Michigan State University was swarmed with police, ambulances and fear Monday night as an active shooter situation unfolded, with officials reporting three people dead and five others injured.
The school sent an alert at 8:31 p.m. telling students to "run, hide, fight" with a report of shots fired on the school's East Lansing campus.
Here's what we know:
This is a breaking news report. It was last updated about 3:45 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14.
Resources to be available for grieving Michigan State community
In the early morning hours of Tuesday, as a campus that had hours before been filled with shouts, sprinting and gunfire fell relatively quiet, leaders looked to what follows an attack and killings at a place of learning.
Speaking not long before 2 a.m. at a news conference, Interim Michigan State University President Teresa Woodruff said the school would move to emergency operations for two days. The time is intended for students, staff and faculty "to think, grieve and be together" after a "day of shock and heartbreak."
"We are devastated at the loss of life," she said. "Our campus grieves, we will all grieve. We will change over time. We cannot allow this to continue to happen again."
Resources for coping will be accessible starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday at East Lansing Hannah Community Center at 819 Abbot Road, the Lansing State Journal reported.
The city of Lansing will also provide resources, along with MSU and East Lansing, said Lansing Mayor Andy Schor at the news conference.
A heavy police presence will remain on the sprawling banks of the Red Cedar over the next several days as crime scenes are processed and interviews are conducted, according to what officials told reporters Tuesday morning.
About 19,000 students live on campus. There will still be normal operations to make sure their needs, for food and the like, are met.
-Darcie Moran, David Jesse and the Lansing State Journal
Michigan State shooting suspect wasn't affiliated with school, police say
The suspect in the deadly Michigan State campus shooting, who later died at a Lansing location, was a 43-year-old man, Michigan State University Interim Deputy Police Chief Chris Rozman said at a news conference about 1:40 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14.
He was not affiliated with the university, Rozman said. And they don't know why he came to MSU.
Rozman previously said that, to his knowledge, the school had not received threats in the preceding days.
The suspect was alive and contacted by police before he shot himself, police said. Various searches of places related to the suspect are ongoing.
-David Jesse and Darcie Moran
Michigan State shooting suspect is dead, police say
The person suspected in the Michigan State campus shooting that killed three and injured five others is dead, officials said in a news conference after midnight Tuesday morning.
The individual was found off of the East Lansing university's campus and appeared to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Michigan State University Interim Deputy Police Chief Chris Rozman said.
Police had still been seeking the individual as of a prior 11 p.m. news conference and shortly thereafter released surveillance images of the individual.
More:Oxford student relives horror at MSU: 'Mom — get me out of here'
More:Some students find refuge during Michigan State shooting at familiar bar
Rozman said there was no longer a need for community members to shelter in place.
"This truly has been a nightmare that we are living tonight, but we have remained laser-focused on the safety of our campus, our students, and the surrounding community," Rozman said.
Officials are relieved to have no more active threat while recognizing how much healing is now needed, he said.
-David Jesse and Darcie Moran
3 people were killed in Michigan State shooting
Three people were killed in the shooting at Michigan State University on Monday.
MSU police confirmed the fatalities in a Tweet shortly before 11:40 p.m. Monday, noting the deaths were in addition to five others previously reported injured.
Slain individuals were found at both shooting scenes — two at Berkey Hall and one at the MSU Union, police later said at a news conference after midnight Tuesday morning.
Police declined to state if those killed were MSU students.
The announcement of the deaths only confirmed the sad news apparent to onlookers outside Monday evening.
As dozens of emergency vehicles blocked the Abbot Road entrance to the university, lights flashing, what appeared to be a body under a sheet could be seen on the sidewalk outside the student union at 10 p.m.
At one point an emergency personnel worker moved to cover it more thoroughly. But the nearest waiting ambulance stayed put, lights on but siren silent.
-Emily Lawler, David Jesse and Darcie Moran
Police say 5 were injured in MSU shooting incident
Five people were injured in the incident, and some have life-threatening injuries, said Michigan State University Interim Deputy Police Chief Chris Rozman at an 11 p.m. news conference.
At a news conference after 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, Rozman said all five remain in critical condition.
The incident began at about 8:18 p.m. at Berkey Hall, on the north side of campus, and then moved to the MSU Union, Rozman said.
-Darcie Moran
The first report was tied to an academic building
The initial incident was reported to have occurred at 8:18 p.m. inside Berkey Hall, an academic building several buildings east of the MSU Union on East Grand River Avenue.
The university warned of an active shooter in the original release announcing the incident, saying the suspect was still at large and believed to be on foot. Those on campus and nearby were told to shelter in place and secure the room they were in.
Police said at a news conference later on that the suspect went to the MSU Union while officers were in Berkey Hall.
The suspect then left the MSU Union through a north exit as police responded to the shooting there, police said.
Berkey Hall is open to the general public and is unlocked during hours when academic classes or activities are going on, officials said at a news conference. The student union is also open to the public. Neither have key card systems for admission.
-Darcie Moran and David Jesse
Another shooting was reported at a fitness center. But it didn't happen.
Though police later confirmed a second shooting took place at the MSU Union, they previously said in a Tweet about 9:30 p.m. that a shooting had been reported at a recreation and fitness center known as IM East.
Multiple injuries were reported with that shooting, police said at the time. Minutes later police stated the building was being secured and that there appeared to only be one suspect.
The location is a more than a 25-minute walk southeast of the union on MSU's campus.
Ultimately, at an evening press conference, police said the shootings took place at Berkey Hall and the MSU Union, and police said there had been false reports of additional shootings.
-David Jesse and Darcie Moran
Police released a description of a suspect about 10 p.m.
The suspect is a short male with a mask, police said in a Tweet about 10 p.m.
Police asked the community to continue to shelter in place in the Tweet and said they were still receiving reports of an active shooter.
-Darcie Moran
What do we know about those injured?
Further details about the injuries were not immediately available.
Victims were being transported to Sparrow Hospital, MSU police said in a Tweet about 10:10 p.m.
Officials reported that Brody Hall, Snyder-Phillips Hall, Mason Hall, Abbot Hall, Landon Hall the MSU Union and Berkey Hall had all been “cleared/secured” at that time.
-Darcie Moran
All activities are canceled
Officials asked that everyone stay away from campus on Tuesday in an earlier Tweet, and officials confirmed that the campus would remain closed when they announced the end of the active threat in the early morning hours of Tuesday.
"All campus activities are canceled for 48 hours, including athletics, classes and all campus-related activities," MSU police said in a Tweet.
-David Jesse and Darcie Moran
Police are seeking additional information
Police ask that those with any information call 844-99-MSUPD or email tips@police.msu.edu.
The FBI is also involved in the case, and a special agent Tuesday morning said 1-800-CALL-FBI could also be called.
-David Jesse and Darcie Moran
When will we learn more?
Three news conferences were held late Monday evening and into the early morning hours of Tuesday at the Henry Center for Executive Development in Lansing. Another press briefing is expected 8 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14.
-David Jesse and Darcie Moran
Oxford graduate heard the shots at Michigan State, mom says
After more than a year of grieving the loss of her high school classmates, a former Oxford High School student was retraumatized Monday evening at Michigan State University, when gun violence would once again shatter her sense of security.
The former Oxford student is now a freshman at MSU and was across the street from the Union when gunfire erupted, according to her mother. She saw people running out of the Union and called her mom.
-Tresa Baldas
Parents say their daughter escaped through a window
Outside Snyder Hall after 9 p.m., Mike and Natalie Papoulias said they sped in their vehicle to the MSU campus from Jackson after receiving a call from their daughter. She reported being in class in Berkey Hall and hearing gunshots.
She told them some students busted out a window and she jumped out, they believe, from the first-floor room.
Their daughter, who they said is a sophomore studying psychology, made it back to her residence hall and was in lockdown later Monday night. They hadn't seen her, but they were texting each other.
Her text: "I heard somebody get shot, mom. It's terrifying. I could smell the gunpowder."
- Paul Egan and Darcie Moran
'We just want to live,' Michigan State student says after campus shooting
Tyler Ostrum, a hospitality business major set to graduate in 2024, said he was in his off-campus east-side apartment when he heard the news. He began checking in on friends when he heard that one of his roommates and that roommate’s sister, both of whom had classes on campus Monday evening, were trapped sheltering in place.
He learned his roommate’s sister was barricaded in a bathroom with 75 other students, Ostrum said.
By about 10:30 p.m., he was waiting on campus in hopes to greet her and be a friendly face.
“It's scary to know that people actually plan on doing this and it's scary that people think it's okay to do this,” Ostrum said.
“We just want to live. We want to graduate.”
-Emily Lawler, Andrea Sahouri and Darcie Moran
'I began to run': Michigan State student recalls fear amid active shooter report
Mataya Newbern, 18, a freshman sociology student, said she was eating dinner in the Akers Hall dining area when the incident began.
Akers is on the far east side of campus.
"I heard people screaming, 'They're shooting! They're shooting!' That's when I began to run," Newbern said. "It's terrifying."
She was out walking on campus about 10 p.m., trying to get back to her residence hall and to check on her friends.
-Paul Egan and Darcie Moran
MSU student saw cops with guns drawn
Spencer Schackmeth, 22 and an economics major, said he was walking on campus when he saw police officers using their vehicle as a cover, guns pointed toward the MSU Union.
He ran home.
Ben Hawes, 21 and an advertising management major, said he woke up from his nap to a frantic roommate at about 8:30 p.m.. He had no idea what was going on outside of his apartment, nearby the union.
“I open my window and I see cops flying, kids running the other direction,” Hawes said.
Hawes and Shackmeth said they don’t feel safe going back to school. They never thought this would happen on their campus.
-Emily Lawler, Andrea Sahouri and Darcie Moran
Climbing over each other to escape
Kayal Ghassan, a 19-year-old fisheries and wildlife student, also was eating at Akers when word of the shooting spread, he said. He noticed other students began crowding at the doors.
Students were worried, and panicking, he said. Many were calling their families.
“Everyone was running in fear," he said. "I saw people climbing over other people,”
Ghassan and others ran to a nearby parking lot, where police immediately asked if they saw the suspect and knew what he looked like.
“I was fearing for my life, honestly. I’ve never experienced something like this,” he said.
-Paul Egan and Andrea Sahouri
Business owner gave students shelter during Michigan State shooting
Eddie Jaafari first heard the police. Then he said he saw the students running "for dear life" away from the student union.
"They were like a flock of birds," said Jaafari, who is one of the owners of Auntie Annie's and Jamba Juice across from the MSU Union.
Jaafari said 15 to 20 students briefly sheltered at his business before they found rides, exiting from the back door.
-Emily Lawler and Andrea Sahouri
Staple East Lansing bar became bunker during Michigan State shooting
An unobtrusive doorway on Grand River Avenue across from Michigan State University leads down a set of stairs to The Landshark, a staple bar for generations of students. It's in a basement, and on a normal night it's a place to grab a drink with friends or watch a game. Late Monday into Tuesday, it was a makeshift bunker.
Logan Feleo, 19, passed out coffee and water to a somber group of around 20 students who quickly abandoned trivia night when they learned there was a shooting on campus, just across the street.
-Emily Lawler
Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Spartan mom, mourns Michigan State shooting
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel was like thousands of other MSU parents on Monday night, fearful for the safety of her children as an active shooter attacked the campus.
Nessel recounted that terror in an early morning statement, saying there is no greater fear and thanking law enforcement for their work to secure the campus.
"While my Spartan sons are safe, I am mourning the devastating loss and senseless violence," she said. "The events at Michigan State University are a tragedy for the entire state of Michigan. My thoughts are with the victims, their families, friends, and loved ones. ... I am hopeful that the investigation reveals how we can better protect our children, our neighbors, and all those who call Michigan home.”
-Darcie Moran
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer calls Michigan State shooting 'uniquely American problem'
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had been briefed on the situation, she said in a Tweet on Monday night. She asked that arms be wrapped around the Spartan community.
Later, after news of the lives lost and the suspect's death was shared, she released a statement calling her alma mater a special place turned a site of senseless gun violence.
"Parents across Michigan were on pins and needles calling their kids to check in on them and tell them they love them. ... Certain places are supposed to be about community, learning, or joy—elementary schools and college campuses, movie theaters and dance halls, grocery stores and workplaces. They should not be the sites of bloodshed.
“This is a uniquely American problem. Too many of us scan rooms for exits when we enter them. We plan who that last text or call would go to. We should not, we cannot, accept living like this. "
Of the Spartans, she added that they'd cry, hold each other a little closer, mourn "the loss of beautiful souls" and pray for those injured.
-Darcie Moran