After Michigan State mass shooting, more questions than answers

Roses lay at the feet of the Spartan Statue on Michigan State University’s campus Tuesday as the school, the city of East Lansing, the state and nation mourned the victims of yet another mass shooting — the 67th in the U.S. this year alone.

This time, blood was shed on the storied banks of the Red Cedar River, where police say Anthony Dwayne McRae, 43, went on a shooting rampage just after 8 p.m. Monday, gunning down students at Berkey Hall and the MSU Union before taking his own life.

What followed were several hours of terror, as thousands hid in their dorm rooms, cowered in libraries, offices and classrooms while police searched for the gunman. Among those in hiding were students who had survived mass shootings at Oxford High School and in Newtown, Connecticut, only to relive the horror at MSU.

'If this is not a wake-up call to do something, I don't know what is'

The massacre took place on the eve of the fifth anniversary of one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history, which took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida — spurring renewed calls for gun-control reform.

"We have children in Michigan who are living through their second school shooting in under a year and a half," said U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Lansing, whose district includes both the MSU campus and Oxford, where a teen gunman killed four classmates and wounded seven others in November 2021.

"I am filled with rage that we have to have another press conference to talk about our children being killed in their schools. If this is not a wake-up call to do something, I don't know what is."

McRae, who lived on Lansing’s north end and had no known ties to the university, was found dead at 11:35 p.m., police said, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A tip led authorities to McRae just 17 minutes after photos taken from a surveillance video were released on social media and to the news media.

When the spree of violence was over, nine people had been shot.

The gunman and three students — Arielle Anderson, Brian Fraser and Alexandria Verner — died. Five others remained in critical condition as of 6 p.m. Tuesday at Sparrow Hospital, said spokesman John Foren.

More:Michigan State shooting victim Arielle Anderson wanted to become a doctor

More:Michigan State shooting victim Brian Fraser remembered as a leader in community

More:Michigan State shooting victim Alexandria Verner was all-state athlete, leader

'When does it stop? ... it's one after the other, after the other'

Anderson's aunt can't understand how her niece could be gone, just gone.

"This is so unbelievable," Kimella Spivey told the Free Press. "When does it stop? Really? I mean, it's one after the other, after the other."

Described by family as “kind, loving, caring, compassionate, driven” and “very family oriented,” Anderson, 19, of Harper Woods was a sophomore at MSU who dreamed of one day becoming a pediatrician.

She graduated from Grosse Pointe North High School in 2021 and was dedicated to helping others. She especially loved spending time with an aunt who has special needs, said her grandmother, April Davis.

"I'm feeling lost," Davis said. "I'm feeling broken. I'm hurt. But I know that she's an angel and I know that God does not make any mistakes."

'His light shined bright with love, leadership and kindness'

Brian Fraser graduated from Grosse Pointe South High School in 2021, and was an athlete who played lacrosse, baseball, and was on the swim and dive team.

At MSU, Fraser was a sophomore, and was the president of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

"As the leader of his chapter, Brian was a great friend to his Phi Delt brothers, the Greek community at Michigan State, and those he interacted with on campus," the fraternity posted to Facebook.

He also was a member of St. Paul on the Lake Catholic Church in Grosse Pointe Farms, which posted to Facebook Tuesday, saying Fraser was “taken far too soon.”

"His light shined bright with love, leadership and kindness in the classroom, athletics and within the St. Paul community.”

'The loss really, really hurts a community like ours'

Verner, 20, of Clawson, was a junior at MSU, studying forensics.

She graduated from Clawson High School in 2020, where she played basketball and was remembered as "phenomenal."

"Her impact in our district and her impact in our community is so intense and so incredible that the loss really, really hurts a community like ours," said Billy Shellenbarger, superintendent of Clawson Public Schools.

She was an all-state softball player, and league-MVP in basketball and volleyball her senior year of high school, Shellenbarger said. She was also in the National Honor Society and student leadership council — selected as a “culture builder” who could set a good example.

"She was certainly a phenomenal daughter, sister, friend, student, leader, student-athlete who truly walked the walk every day and modeled what high character and integrity and kindness was all about in a world where we're void of that, obviously, right now."

More:MSU shooting suspect had troubling history with guns, records and interviews show

More:Michigan State University student: I survived Sandy Hook, now this shooting

Shooter had a history of weapons violations

Though authorities continue to investigate what sparked Monday's shooting rampage, Chris Rozman, MSU's interim deputy police chief, said Tuesday: "We have absolutely no idea what the motive was."

What is known is that McRae pleaded guilty to a gun-related charge in 2019, after he was found with a Ruger LCP .380 semi-automatic pistol in his pants pocket and a loaded magazine in his breast pocket but didn't have a concealed weapons permit, according to court records.

He was charged with a violation of concealed carry law and possessing a loaded weapon in a vehicle; he pleaded guilty to the weapon-in-a-vehicle charge, while prosecutors dropped the second count, according to court records.

McRae never served time in prison for the offense; he was placed on probation in late 2019 and was “successfully discharged” on May 14, 2021, said Chris Gautz, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections.

He lived the last two years with his father at the end of a quiet street of older homes in Lansing’s north end, neighbors said.

Neighbor Megan Bender told the Free Press she recalls an incident a couple years ago when police were called after McRae fired a gun outside the family home.

Brother says Anthony McCrae 'kind of secluded himself'

It has been two years since Michael McCrae, 45, of Delaware, spoke to his brother, the accused gunman in the MSU shooting spree.

“This just don’t seem real, that he would be able to do anything like this,” the older brother told the Free Press on the morning after the violence. “I am still trying to process this whole thing.”

His brother “stayed to himself” and they had grown apart over the years, he said. Anthony McRae had no children, no spouse and no friends his older brother knew of. Michael McRae said his younger brother worked at warehouse jobs in Lansing.

“He stayed to himself,” Michael McRae said. “He kind of secluded himself.

“Definitely a loner.”

Note in McRae's pocket threatened New Jersey schools

Though about 670 miles separate East Lansing from Ewing, New Jersey, a school district in that East Coast town closed two of its schools Tuesday because of a threat authorities discovered in Anthony McRae's pocket.

“When McRae was found by police in Michigan, he had a note in his pocket that indicated a threat to two Ewing Public Schools,” Ewing police said in a news release. “Investigation revealed that McRae had a history of mental health issues. As the investigation continued, and out of an abundance of caution, the Ewing Public Schools were closed for the day. ...

"After further investigation, it has been determined that the incident is isolated to Michigan, and there is no threat to Ewing Schools. Information received during our investigation indicated that McRae has not resided in the Ewing area in several years.”

More:MSU campus starkly quiet after deadly shooting

Whitmer: 'We cannot keep living like this'

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, an MSU alumna called the unceasing cadence of mass shootings a "uniquely American problem.""We mourn the loss of beautiful souls today and pray for those who are continuing to fight for their lives," she said during a Tuesday news conference. "Every Spartan student, parent and staff member should know that Michiganders and Americans everywhere are thinking of you today. ... We're all broken by an all too familiar feeling — another place that is supposed to be about community and togetherness shattered by bullets and bloodshed."

She urged lawmakers to take action to stem the pace of these deadly attacks.

"We cannot keep living like this," Whitmer said. "Our children are scared to go to school. People feel unsafe in their houses of worship or local stores. Too many of us scan rooms for exits when we enter them. And many of us have gone through the grim exercise of figuring out who our last call would be to. Last night, a lot of kids on this campus made those calls. They worried for their lives and for their friends, for their fellow Spartans.

"We must act and we will. But today, let's hold the MSU and East Lansing communities close."

President Joe Biden called on Congress on Tuesday to take legislative action to require background checks on gun sales, ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and more.

"Action is what we owe to those grieving today in Michigan and across America," he said.

Free Press staff writers Darcie Moran, David Jesse, Dave Boucher, Paul Egan, Christine MacDonald, Nushrat Rahman, Violet Ikonomova, Andrea May Sahouri, Lily Altavena, Arpan Lobo, and Todd Spangler contributed to this report, along with Rachel Greco of the Lansing State Journal.

Contact Kristen Jordan Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kristenshamus. Subscribe to the Free Press.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: After MSU mass shooting, more questions than answers