STORY DEVELOPMENTSTORY DEVELOPMENT,
A gunman opened fire in an academic building and student union Monday night, police say.
A gunman fatally shot three people at Michigan State University in the United States and wounded five others before killing himself.
On Monday evening, a gunman opened fire on an academic building – Berkey Hall – and a nearby student union on the East Lansing campus.
Police added that the attacker, described as black, shot himself after fleeing.
“Three deaths have been confirmed. This is in addition to the five victims who were transported to the hospital,” campus police said on Twitter.
Students were ordered to shelter in place for hours at the campus, which serves about 50,000 students and is located 145 km (90 miles) northwest of Detroit.
PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE SUSPECT: The suspect is a black male, of short stature, wearing red shoes, a denim jacket, and a dark blue baseball cap with a lighter brim. pic.twitter.com/9blppnX5U3
— MSU Police and Public Safety (@msupolice) February 14, 2023
“I can only imagine the emotions that are involved right now … we are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of our campus and all of our students,” said Chris Rozman, interim deputy chief of the campus police department.
The condition of the wounded is not immediately known and it is not clear what kind of weapon the attacker used in the attack.
Aedan Kelley, a student who lives near the campus, told The Associated Press he locked his doors and covered his windows “just in case.”
The sirens were constant, he said, and a helicopter hovered overhead.
“It’s all very scary,” Kelley said. “And then I have all these people texting me asking if I’m okay, which is devastating.”
Mass shootings have become alarmingly common in the US, with 648 reported in 2022, down slightly from 690 reported in 2021, according to the Gun Violence Archive tracker.
In a recent high-profile attack, a gunman fatally shot 10 people during a Lunar New Year celebration in Monterey Park, California.
Schools, places of worship and work are frequent targets.
In 2022, a gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 children and two teachers. In 2018, a gunman fatally shot 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida.
In 2012, a gunman killed 20 elementary school children and six adults in Newtown, Connecticut.
More to come.