A gunman killed three students and injured five at Michigan State University East Lansing Campus, on Mon. Feb. 13. The gunman opened fire in two different campus locations: Berkey Hall and the Student Union.

Anthony Dwayne McRae, the suspect in question, is a 43-year-old man non-affiliated with MSU. He died later that night from a self-inflicted gun wound after police caught up to him. 

Clair Papoulias is an MSU sophomore and was in one of the rooms with the shooter. 

“I thought I was going to die,” Papoulias said. “The shooter opened the back classroom door and started firing at my classmates in the back, wounding them. I smelled and saw the gunpowder.”

The three killed were Alexandria Verner, junior; Arielle Anderson, junior; and Brian Fraser, sophomore. These families commemorate their loved ones with ceremonies throughout their hometowns. MSU held a memorial Wednesday night, where current Michigan State students, alumni and faculty gathered, including current Michigan Governor, Gretchen Whitmer. 

Tom Izzo, MSU basketball coach, spoke at the vigil saying he wanted the community to “take comfort in their friends and family as they process the violence,” Izzo stated in an ABC article.

Michigan State students protested outside the Michigan State Capital, which is right down the road from their campus, pleading for gun reform. 

“Hundreds braved cold and windy weather as they sat on the building’s majestic steps and listened to sympathetic and angry speeches calling for legislative action to curb the violence they and students across the nation have been exposed to,” an ABC article stated.

Erich Laschinski, sophomore at Jupiter High, has friends that currently attend MSU and his parents are state alumni.

“My mom came in freaking out because we have a lot of friends over at Michigan State, especially some kids that go there,” Laschinski said. “I was definitely very scared and texting all my friends just to make sure they’re all okay.” 

Laschinski believes in gun reforms after gun violence has derailed many people’s lives. 

“The wake up call should have been some of the past shootings. But now this shooting is just finally having people realize,” Laschinski said. “I feel like it’s way too late to call it a wake up call.”

Michigan State is set to go back to school Mon. Feb. 20. MSU basketball team will also be playing in-state rival University of Michigan, where both teams are set to honor the victims and come together as a community. 

“Athletics can be a rallying point for a community in need of healing, a fact many of our student-athletes have mentioned to me. The opportunity  to represent our entire community has never felt greater,” Alan Haller, MSU athletic director, said in a statement released by Michigan State Athletics. “I also recognize that everyone grieves in their own unique manner, and there are some who aren’t ready to return to athletic events. Those feelings are incredibly valid and as Coach Izzo so eloquently stated last night, I hope that we will all focus on taking care of one another.”