February 14, 2023 - Michigan State University shooting leaves 3 dead, 5 injured

A shooting at Michigan State University on Monday left at least three dead and five injured. After authorities shared updates on the incident this morning, here's what we know:

An alert citizen recognized the Michigan State University shooting suspect and helped police locate where he was shortly after police released his photo, officials said Tuesday in a news conference. 

Chris Rozman, MSU Police and Public Safety interim deputy chief, said that police determined that they had a picture of the suspect from surveillance video and disseminated that quickly to the public.  

"We commend the community and the citizen that called that in. And that was exactly what we were trying to achieve by releasing that picture, was to generate immediate tips for this person that was mobile that we had no idea where he was at that point," Rozman said. 

Police named 43-year-old Anthony McRae, who had no known affiliation to the university and was killed by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, as the suspect. There is no known motive at this time, police said.

Michigan State University Interim President Teresa Woodruff said classes will be canceled until Monday morning.

The school will be in modified operations for the next two days, she said at a news conference, "then we'll move into a period where classes will be canceled until Monday morning, but campus operations will resume."

"We will provide the resources the students need for the time period they need," she added, thanking the federal government for its support.

There is still no known motive in the Michigan State University shooting, according to Chris Rozman, interim deputy chief at the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety.

"We have absolutely no idea what the motive was at this point," Rozman said, reiterating that the suspect is a 43-year-old man with no affiliation to the school.

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Five injured individuals who were brought to the hospital after the deadly shooting at the Michigan State University remain in critical condition, according to Denny Martin, chief medical officer at E.W. Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan.

Four of those individuals did require surgical intervention to treat their injuries, Martin said at Tuesday's news conference.

One individual did not, and was taken to the critical care unit.

"Initial reports last evening that the injuries were life-threatening were correct, but there wasn't a consistent nature — there was a variety of injuries associated with the gunshots that came in," he told reporters later.

Martin said he's "proud of everyone" on his team for treating the victims, "amazingly well."  

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CNN's Michelle Watson contributed reporting to this post.

The suspect in the Michigan State University shooting has been identified as 43-year-old Anthony Dwayne McRae, according to Chris Rozman, interim deputy chief at the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety.

"We would like to thank you or community for their help. Because of our quick release of the photograph from the campus security cameras and help from our community, it was a caller's tip that led law enforcement to that suspect in the city of Lansing," he added.

Rozman also told reporters that a weapon was recovered, and said that while he cannot confirm any location, law enforcement is aware that there was a search warrant executed on a residence that was connected to the suspect in this case.

All three of the deceased victims in the Michigan State University shooting were students, the school's interim deputy chief Chris Rozman confirmed Tuesday.

All five injured are students as well, Rozman said.

Officials will release names later today, he added.

Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin expressed her frustration with addressing another school shooting more than a year after four students were shot dead at a Michigan high school.

The Michigan lawmaker went on to call out the lack of progress on gun violence.

"I would say that you either care about protecting kids or you don't," Slotkin said. "You either care about having an open honest conversation about what is going on in our society, or you don't. But please don't tell me you care about the safety of children if you are not willing to have a conversation about keeping them safe in a place that should be a sanctuary."

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spoke about the cycle of American gun violence during a news briefing Tuesday morning, following a deadly shooting at Michigan State University last night.

"We know this is a uniquely American problem," Whitmer said.

She acknowledged that today is the fifth anniversary of the Parkland shooting in Florida, where 17 students were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine's Day.

She also brought up the recent shooting at a dance hall on Lunar New Year in California and the Uvalde elementary school massacre in Texas.

"Our children are scared to go to school. People feel unsafe in their houses of worship or local stores. Too many of us scan rooms for for exits when we enter them, and many of us have gone through the grim exercise of figuring out who our last call would be to," she said.

"Words are not good enough. We must act, and we will," the governor added.