The man suspected of killing three people at a renowned US university campus had a note in his pocket threatening to also attack two other schools, authorities say.
But police are still baffled as to why he went on a murderous rampage at Michigan State University, fatally shooting three students before turning the gun on himself.
Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the university campus in Lansing, about 150km west of Detroit, on Monday evening after shots were fired in two separate locations.
Police said that there were at least five people in hospital with life-threatening injuries following the attack.
Anthony McRae, 43, has been identified by police as the suspect, Fox News reported.
He was found dead from a self inflicted gunshot wound following the massacre, police said.
Police say McRae had a list of previous convictions including a firearms offence.
After the shooting, police said they located a note in which McRae threatened attacks on two schools in Trenton, New Jersey.
‘No idea what the motive was’
“We have absolutely no idea what the motive was at this point,” Michigan State University Police Deputy Chief Chris Rozman said on Tuesday US time.
“I know everybody wants to know what the motive is. We don’t have an answer right now, that’s the honest truth”.
Police said the shooter had no known connection to the college.
“We have no idea why he came to campus to do this,” they said in a statement.
A shelter-in-place was first put in place at 8.40pm on Monday, saying that shots were fired near Berkey Hall on the northern boundary of campus. Another shooting was reported around 9.26pm at IM East, a gym on campus.
University police said they have not yet identified the victims.
Threatening note found in suspect’s pocket
McRae had a note threatening to also attack two schools in New Jersey — forcing a township to keep all its public schools shuttered on Tuesday, the New York Post reports.
Police found the note threatening schools in Ewing, near Trenton, in McRae’s pocket.
“When McRae was found by police in Michigan, he had a note in his pocket that indicated a threat to two Public Schools,” the Township of Ewing Police Department said, without elaborating on the exact nature.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the Ewing Public Schools were closed for the day,” the force said, with officers “stationed at each closed public school” as well as private ones in the township, the force said.
McRae was known to have “local ties to Ewing” — as well as “a history of mental health issues,” police said.
An obituary for his mother, devoted churchgoer Linda Gail McRae, 62, said she was originally from Trenton, and several relatives appear to still live in the area.
However, McRae has not lived in New Jersey for several years, cops said of the killer who previously served jail time in Lansing for carrying a loaded gun.
The force said Tuesday the investigation “determined the incident is isolated to Michigan, and there is no threat to Ewing Schools.”
Suspect already busted on firearms charges
McRae had several previous run ins with police. from 2006 to 2008 he accrued four counts of driving with a suspended licence.
However, the most serious charge was in 2019 when he was found with a loaded weapon near an abandoned building, said the Michigan Department of Corrections.
The department released a mugshot of McRae from that time.
He pleased guilty to carrying a gun without a concealed-weapons permit, reported theNew York Post. He satisfactorily completed his probation.
He was placed on pronation from October 2019 to May 2021.
Authorities said victims had been transported to the nearby Sparrow Hospital in Lansing.
now.”
Michigan State University has an enrolment of over 50,000 students, several of which remain in lockdown after the incident.
University police on Monday night sent out an alert warning the campus community to “Run, Hide, Fight,” according to Freep.com.
“Run means evacuate away from danger if you can do so safely, Hide means to secure-in-place, and Fight means protect yourself if no other option,” the message said.
Officer Rozman said the lockdown was lifted around 12:30am local time.
“This truly has been a nightmare that we are living tonight but we have remained laser focused on the safety of our students,” he said.
“We are relieved to no longer have an active threat on campus, while we realise there is so much healing that will need to take place. I can only imagine how parents are feeling right
Michigan State University student Blake Maday said that students were sheltered inside after the emergency warning.
“Everyone is barricaded in their places with lights out,” Maday told Fox News Digital.
“Students are sending in all types of reports and it seems like people are sending the police on a wild-goose chase with nothing confirmed.”
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said that she‘d been briefed by Michigan State Police about the shooting.
“Let’s wrap our arms around the Spartan community tonight,” Ms Whitmer tweeted.
— with Fox News
Story Credit: news.com.au