Police are still searching for a motive behind a mass shooting at Michigan State University, which left three people killed and five others injured Monday evening.
The suspect behind the shooting, who was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound hours after the gunfire first erupted, had no ties to the university, authorities said.
"We can confirm that the 43-year-old suspect had no affiliation to the university," Deputy Chief Chris Rozman said. "He was not a student, faculty, staff - current or previous. So that's an unknown right now. And that's what we're trying to understand is is why this incident occurred."
Rozman said anything recovered during a search of the suspect's home is "part of the ongoing investigation," but declined to comment on what, if anything, was discovered.
"I know everybody wants to know what the motive is. We don't have an answer right now. And that's the honest truth," he said.
Meanwhile, police in Ewing, New Jersey, said the gunman had a note in his pocket threatening two schools in their city at the time he was found.
Ewing Public Schools were closed Tuesday "out of an abundance of caution," but area police said "after further investigation, it has been determined that the incident is isolated to Michigan and there is no threat to Ewing schools."
The suspect had ties to Ewing, but has not lived in the area "in several years," according to their release, which also noted he had "a history of mental health issues."
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
The MSU shooting began at approximately 8:18 p.m. Monday at Berkey Hall, an academic building on the East Lansing campus. Multiple 911 calls were placed from that location and police later said that two victims were killed in that building.
Although police responded quickly to the scene, the gunman made his way to the Michigan State University Union, a popular gathering spot for students to eat or study. More victims were shot there, and at least one died from their injuries, officials said.
Police ultimately released a surveillance image of the suspect and said a tip led them to another discovery.
"We had MSU Police and Public Safety investigators reviewing surveillance footage, and they quickly determined that we had a picture of the suspect, and we quickly disseminated that publicly," Deputy Chief Chris Rozman said during a press conference Tuesday morning. "It was shortly after we released it, that he was recognized by an alert citizen."
The tip ultimately led police to the suspect, who had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. According to officials, his body was discovered off-campus just before midnight Eastern Time.
The suspect was identified as 43-year-old Anthony Dwayne McRae.
The eight victims who were shot, three of them fatally, were all students, authorities said Tuesday.
"We can confirm that all three of the deceased were MSU students," Rozman said. "We can also confirm at this time that all five of the injured victims at the hospital were also MSU students."
The two of the three students killed were identified later Tuesday morning. They were Brian Fraser, a sophomore from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, and Alexandria Verner, a junior from Clawson, Michigan.
"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. We are relieved to no longer have an active threat on campus, while we realize that there [will be] so much healing that will need to take place after this," Rozman said during a press conference Monday.
In an emotional Tuesday morning update, Sparrow Hospital Interim President and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Danny Martin relayed that four of the wounded required surgery, and all five victims remain in critical condition.
"This is something we've talked about this morning, that we practice for very often, but never want to have to do," Martin said, holding back tears.
Officials said the ongoing investigation into the incident is in its early stages, and police expect to share more information as it becomes available.
Michigan State has about 50,000 students, including 19,000 who live on campus. All classes, sports and other activities have been canceled for 48 hours.
Interim university President Teresa Woodruff said it would be a time “to think and grieve and come together.”
“This Spartan community — this family — will come back together,” Woodruff said.
