EAST LANSING (AP) – One student was a fraternity chapter president. Another was a science student with fond memories of her days as a high-school athlete – and the third was a frequent volunteer who wanted to become a surgeon.
Family and friends mourned the deaths of three Michigan State University students killed in a Monday night shooting that critically wounded five others.
Anthony McRae – the 43-year-old gunman with a previous gun violation – fatally shot himself hours later when police, alerted by a tipster who recognised the suspect in photos, confronted him about 8,047 metres away from the East Lansing campus.
All three students who were killed came from the suburban Detroit area.
The names of the five who were injured have not been released.
Among those killed was Alexandria Verner, a junior from Clawson, whose LinkedIn profile said she was studying integrated biology and anthropology.
A 2020 graduate of Clawson High School, Verner “was and is incredibly loved by everyone”, district Superintendent Billy Shellenbarger said in a statement on Tuesday. “She was a tremendous student, athlete, leader and exemplified kindness every day of her life.”
Hundreds of mourners flowed onto a suburban Detroit high school football field on Tuesday night to light candles and reminisce about Verner in a vigil led by Shellenbarger.
Those in attendance also observed a 24-second moment of silence in honour of Verner, who wore jersey number 24 while she was a basketball player at Clawson High.
