EAST LANSING, Mich. – Friends and family of five Michigan State University students held a vigil Tuesday afternoon, praying their loved ones would recover after their run-ins with the shooter.
Those five students have been listed in critical condition.
We’ve heard sayings years back of Boston Strong, Oxford Strong, and now we have Spartan Strong, which could be seen across the street from Sparrow Hospital, where the five students remain in varying degrees of critical condition. Local 4 received information that one of the students didn’t have to go through surgery and was brought into the ICU directly.
Interim President and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Denny Martin at Spectrum spoke about how everything came together in getting those five students who needed the critical care they received so desperately.
“I want to thank the overwhelming response from our team,” said Martin. “Everyone, in our level one trauma center, this is something we’ve talked about this morning that we practice for very often but never want to have to do. And we did it amazingly well. I’m very proud of everyone.”
Local 4 has been on the phone with the hospital several times on Tuesday (Feb. 14). They stressed what they called “Compassionate Care,” which was being delivered to the families, saying they were there for them. The family members are being tended to, and they’re making sure that the families are as comfortable as they can make them.
Martin also talked about the fact that the entirety of the hospital, including the trauma department, the emergency department, the anesthesia department, cardiothoracic surgeons, neurosurgeons, the radiology department, and even public safety.
Many of them had gone home for the day, and as soon as the alert went out that they had this problem, he said that all of those people came right back as soon as they possibly could to help to make sure that they gave the students who were injured the best possible care that they received.
Recovery after a gunshot wound is very long and difficult, so it will be a long slog for all of the families.
As for the shooter, a 43-year-old man died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Investigators said the investigation is ongoing and dynamic as they try to learn more about what set off the shooting.
MSU Interim President Teresa K. Woodruff, Ph.D., said in a statement:
“We ask each of you to honor your feelings and to take care of yourself and each other, and together, we will come back more resilient than ever and more ready to face what is needed in this society, which is the courage of all of us to ensure that this never happens again.”
