By Lea Mina | Staff Writer
Chaos and confusion spread across Michigan State University (MSU) as a gunman appeared to move from one building to the other on February 13, 2023. Like many scenes of madness in the United States, the shootings at MSU forced students to jump out of windows leaving three deaths behind.
Claire Papoulias was in history class when “all of sudden I heard gunshots directly behind me,” the sophomore told CNN on Tuesday. The suspected gunman, Anthony Macrae, entered room 114 of MSU’s Berkey Hall and killed two students, Arielle Diamond Anderson, 19, and Alexandria Verner, 20. He then went to the MSU Union and killed Brian Fraser, 20. Five other students were left critically injured.
Horrified, students barricaded their classrooms and shut off every light in order not to get noticed. From their dorm rooms and classes, they began calling their parents, crying, and praying pepper spray and scissors would be enough if it came to it. Masses of students began running for safety, fearing for their lives. The whole campus had to shelter in place for four whole hours while the active shooter was murdering their friends.
Police released a picture of the shooter that was taken from the university’s security cameras. During their confrontation with the man, he turned the gun to himself and ended his life. Nevertheless, it is said that the gunman may have had bigger plans. His body was found with a note in his pocket that indicated a threat to two different Ewing Public Schools, according to New Jersey’s city police. Despite being no longer a threat, he left three deaths and five critical injuries.
Run, Hide, Fight. These are the words the students received in a frightening email from their university. “We now have a complete generation that has grown up with this, many times over, from elementary school all the way up to now,” East Lansing Mayor Ron Bacon said. “They live with this the entire time”.