Michigan State Police said Thursday the suspect in this week’s Michigan State University shootings carried with him a note indicating he felt slighted by former co-workers and others, a possible clue to a motive for a shooting that left three students dead and five others injured at the college late Monday.
At a news briefing in East Lansing, Michigan State Police Lieutenant Rene Gonzalez told reporters the note carried by the suspect, 43-year-old Anthony Dwayne McRae, indicated McRae had some issues with other employees at a previous job where he had been asked to leave.
Gonzalez noted they were uncertain what prompted McRae to open fire in two academic buildings on the university campus and later at a nearby student union. McRae died later, about six kilometers off campus, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after he was confronted by police. He had no known connection to the university.
Gonzalez also said police had interviewed the suspect’s father, Michael McRae, who said his son had no friends and spent much of his time alone in his room.
Chris Rozman, Michigan State University interim deputy police chief, said investigators are going to consider the possibility the suspect suffered from mental illness, though he admitted that may be difficult to confirm after the fact.
Michigan State University Interim President Teresa Woodruff told reporters three students — a 20-year-old man, a 20-year-old woman and a 19-year-old woman — were killed in the shooting. She said five other students remained hospitalized in critical condition as of early Thursday.
Rozman said the names of the wounded were not being released out of respect for their families.
Woodruff said the academic building where two students died will remain closed for the remainder of the semester. She said the student union is still being evaluated.
Michigan State has about 50,000 students at its campus in East Lansing, located 145 kilometers northwest of Detroit.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
