EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A gunman opened fire Monday night at Michigan State University, taking the lives of three people and wounding five more, before fatally shooting himself miles away after an hours-long manhunt that forced frightened students to hide in the dark.
Police announced the man's death early Tuesday, four hours after shootings broke out at Berkey Hall, an academic building, and later nearby at the MSU Union, a popular hub to eat or study.
Police at a news conference later Tuesday identified the gunman as 43-year-old Anthony McRae. They said he shot himself miles away from campus while being confronted by police.
Officials earlier said the gunman was not a student or employee and had no affiliation with the university.
“This truly has been a nightmare we’re living tonight,” said Chris Rozman, interim deputy chief of the campus police department.
Hundreds of officers had scoured the East Lansing campus, about 90 miles northwest of Detroit, for the suspect, whom police described as a short Black man with red shoes, a jean jacket and a ball cap.
The 43-year-old man was confronted by police off campus before killing himself with a "self-inflicted gunshot wound," Rozman said.
His name was not immediately released, nor any details about the gun or what police found at the scene. Rozman said the man was not a student or employee and had no affiliation with Michigan State.
“We have no idea why he came to campus to do this tonight. That is part of our ongoing investigation,” the deputy chief said.
Rozman said two people died at Berkey and another at the MSU Union, while five people were in critical condition at Sparrow Hospital.
By 10:15 p.m., police said Berkey, as well as nearby residence halls, were secured.
Dominik Molotky said he was learning about Cuban history around 8:15 p.m. when he and the other students heard a gunshot outside the classroom. He told ABC’s “Good Morning America" that a few seconds later, the gunman entered and fired three to four more rounds while the students took cover.
“I was ducking and covering, and the same with the rest of the students. He let off four more rounds and when it went silent for about 30 seconds to a minute, two of my classmates started breaking open a window, and that took about 30 seconds to happen. There was glass everywhere,” Molotky said.
“After that, we broke out the window and I climbed out of there, and then I booked it back to my apartment,” he said. He was unsure whether gunfire hit any of the students.
Ryan Kunkel, 22, was attending a class in the Engineering Building when he became aware of the shooting from a university email. Kunkel and about 13 other students turned off the lights and acted like there “was a shooter right outside the door,” he said.
“Nothing came out of anyone’s mouth” for over four hours, he said.
“I wasn’t ready to accept that this is really going on next door, like right next to me. It’s on my campus,” Kunkel said. “This is supposed to be a place where I’m coming, learning and bettering myself. And instead, students are getting hurt.”
Before the gunman was found dead, WDIV-TV meteorologist Kim Adams, whose daughter attends Michigan State, told viewers that students were worn down by the hours-long saga.
“They’ve been hiding, all the lights off in a dark room,” Adams said.
Aedan Kelley, a junior who lives a half-mile (less than a kilometer) east of campus, said he locked his doors and covered his windows “just in case.” Sirens were constant, and a helicopter hovered overhead.
“It’s all very frightening,” Kelley said. “And then I have all these people texting me wondering if I’m OK, which is overwhelming.”
Michigan State has about 50,000 students, including 19,000 who live on campus. All classes, sports and other activities were 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.