Authorities said Thursday that the gunman who murdered three Michigan State University students and gravely injured five others had a list of possible targets, two handguns, and lots of ammo when he was apprehended on foot following the campus massacre.
Authorities claimed that after gunfire terrorized the East Lansing campus Monday evening, an attentive civilian who saw news coverage assisted police in apprehending 43-year-old Anthony Dwayne McRae about 4 miles northwest of campus.
Michigan State Shooting Investigation
According to Lt. Rene Gonzalez of the Michigan State Police, after an hours-long manhunt, he shot himself as police arrived around 3.8 miles away from campus.
McRae had one 9mm firearm on him and another 9mm weapon in his rucksack. Authorities also discovered eight loaded guns, two empty magazines, and a two-page note in his wallet including threats to businesses, New Jersey schools, and a church.
Authorities later executed a search warrant at his residence. Authorities said they discovered a cell phone, notebooks, and other writings, and fired 9 mm casings there. Despite the latest developments, the motive for the deadly massacre remains unknown.
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MSU Shooting Suspect Worked At One Of His Targets
Professor Marco Daz-Muoz was teaching in Berkey Hall’s room 114 when the gunman entered through the back door and began firing. The gunman, who had only stepped inside the classroom, was masked, so Daz-Muoz couldn’t see his face.
When the firing started, students froze, then hid under desks in fear or began running. According to Daz-Muoz, the assailant fired at least 15 shots, “one after the other, one after the other.”
Two of the pupils who died that night, as well as all five who remain in the hospital, were in Daz-classroom. Daz-Muoz said that he couldn’t remember what he did between the gunman opening fire and exiting the classroom and heading back into the hall.
McRae’s note stated that he was the leader of a crew of 20 assassins. According to law enforcement officials, it listed a list of targets that included a warehouse, an employment agency, a bargain store, a church, and a fast food restaurant.
McRae had previously worked at one of the facilities, a Meijer department store warehouse, investigators revealed on Thursday.
“In a couple of other businesses, it appears that he’d had some issues with the employees there, where he was asked to leave,” Gonzalez said.
Michigan State University Shooting Victims
Hundreds of mourners gathered Wednesday evening to pay their respects to Arielle Anderson, 19, Brian Fraser, 20, and Alexandria Verner, also 20.
“Our campuses, churches, classrooms, and communities should not be battlefields,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said to the gathered mourners on Wednesday.
Officials have not released the names of the five gravely injured pupils. Two Chinese students who were injured Monday have undergone surgery and are no longer in danger of dying.