EAST LANSING, Mich. — Officials were searching for clues Tuesday after a gunman killed three people and wounded five on the campus of Michigan State University a day earlier, prompting a manhunt that ended with a confrontation with police and his death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound,
Michigan State University Interim Deputy Police Chief Chris Rozman said authorities received multiple calls of a shooting at Berkey Hall around 8:18 p.m. Police then immediately responded to a second shooting at the nearby student union building, he said.
“We tended to the victims at both of those scenes, and there was an overwhelming law enforcement response to campus,” Rozman said.
What happened in the shooting?
No motive for the attack was revealed. Rozman said two people were killed at Berkey Hall and another was killed at the student union before the gunman apparently fled. Five people were rushed to Sparrow Hospital in critical condition, he said.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers from local, state and federal agencies responded to the shooting “in a coordinated effort,” Rozman said. At one point a line of 10 ambulances were lined up near the scene. Several campus buildings in the area were cleared and secured by 10:18 p.m., according to university police.
Four hours after the first shots were reported, police announced the man’s death. Rozman said officers had confronted the shooter miles away from the shooting scene, and that he died by a “self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
3 KILLED AT MICHIGAN STATE:Suspect dead after hourslong search
Who was the shooter?
The shooter’s name was not immediately released. Rozman said he was a 43-year-old man and was not a student or employee of the school. No connection to the school had was immediately determined.
“We have no idea why he came to campus to do this tonight. That is part of our ongoing investigation,” he said.
Students sheltered in place or hid where they could
Ben Finkelstein, a senior, said he was sheltering in place in his room.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this scared,” he said. “I’ve been listening to the police scanner for an hour.”
Finkelstein said he was hiding under a pile of dirty laundry in his first-floor room. He closed all of his blinds and turned off his lights.
“It’s far too late for this to be called a wake-up call,” he said. “The sad truth is I doubt we’re going to be the last. Other than that, I’m praying for everybody.”
Kayal Ghassan, a 19-year-old fisheries and wildlife student, also was eating in another building on campus 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.
Contributing: Paul Egan, Andrea Sahouri, Mike Ellis, Sheldon Krause and Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY NETWORK; The Associated Press
