EAST LANSING, Mich. – Nearly one month after a gunman opened fire on campus at Michigan State University, killing three students and injuring five more, police are sharing new details from their investigation.
Michigan State University police on Friday provided an updated timeline for the campus shootings, more details from a note found on the shooter, and a map of 911 calls made the night of Feb. 13.
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The gunman, identified as 43-year-old Anthony McRae, shot at students in two on-campus buildings, killing 19-year-old Arielle Anderson, 20-year-old Alexandria Verner and 20-year-old Brian Fraser. Five other students were injured and initially hospitalized in critical condition, though most of their conditions have improved since then.
The shooter had no known ties to the university.
Several law enforcement agencies have been investigating the mass shooting in the month since. The investigation is still underway, but authorities have released some new pieces of new information.
Updated shooting timeline
Investigators are sharing a more detailed timeline that states when the shooting began at each building and when the shooter left each building.
Here’s the timeline for the Feb. 13 shootings, as written by MSU police:
- 8:18 p.m. – First shots fired call at Berkey Hall received by Ingham County 911
- 8:20 p.m. – Officers entered Berkey Hall
- 8:24 p.m. – McRae entered the Union
- 8:26 p.m. – First report of shooting at the Union
- 8:26 p.m. – McRae exited the Union and left campus
- 8:27 p.m. – Officers arrived at the Union
- 8:30 p.m. – First emergency alert notification sent
- 8:31 p.m. – Second emergency alert notification sent
- 11:18 p.m. – Photo of suspect shared on MSU DPPS social media
- 11:35 p.m. – Ingham County 911 receives call of person matching the description walking on Lake Lansing Road near High Street in the city of Lansing
- 11:49 p.m. – Officers approach McRae and he shoots himself
There is still a significant gap in the timeline between when the shooter left campus and when he was located. MSU police say they are still investigating his whereabouts during that three-hour period.
Some students have also expressed concern about why the first emergency alert was sent out more than 10 minutes after the first shooting.
The shooter’s note
Police had previously stated that they discovered a note in the shooter’s pocket after he killed himself in front of officers. Authorities had publicly confirmed some details from the note, but hadn’t provided all of the information found in the note.
On Friday, images of the entire note were shared by police -- excluding a few details that were redacted to “protect the privacy of outside entities.”
In the note, the shooter claimed that he was working with a group of 20 people to carry out a series of shootings in East Lansing, Lansing, Colorado and New Jersey. Officials say these claims are unfounded, and that the investigation by MSU police and the FBI has determined that the shooter was acting alone.
The note, which was dated Feb. 12, 2023, covered the front and back of a piece of paper. In addition to listing plans to carry out shootings, it appears to list the shooter’s reasons for his violence.
Police have not yet officially reported what they think the shooter’s motive was.
Images of the note can be seen below. Please note that the content is disturbing and vulgar, and may be difficult to read for some.
Map of 911 calls
Officials also reported Friday that the Ingham County 911 dispatch center received thousands of calls the night of the shootings. Dispatchers received 1,450 911 calls in a five-hour period, police said -- the “equivalent of 2.5 days’ worth of calls for the dispatch center.”
Below is a map of where those 911 calls were made and within what time frame on Feb. 13.
For more than three hours, dispatchers fielded calls from students, staff and community members on and near campus. There were numerous reports of shots fired, reports of people screaming, and people reporting seeing the gunman.
Gunfire was only confirmed at two buildings on Feb. 13: Berkey Hall and the MSU Union.
Related: 911 dispatcher working night of Michigan State University mass shooting: ‘I was doing my job’
In addition to the 911 calls made, police said there were more than 3,000 instances of police officers communicating over the same primary shared radio dispatch talk group.
Police say most details about the investigation will be provided as they become available.