Police release note found on gunman following mass shooting at Michigan State University
The Michigan State University Department of Police and Public Safety has released several updates related to last month's shooting on campus that left three students dead and several more injured, including sharing photographs of a note that the gunman had in his pocket.
The gunman, identified as 43-year-old Anthony McRae, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Some content in the note was redacted, but visible text shows McRae claiming to be the leader of a group of 20 people planning multiple mass shootings in nearby towns and New Jersey. Officers from Michigan State University, the Michigan State Police and the FBI have determined that McRae acted alone and that no other locations were under threat, though some New Jersey schools did close the day after the shooting out of an abundance of caution.
The two-page note also included a list of McRae's apparent motives for the shooting. He also drew multiple sad faces on the paper, which is dated Feb. 12, 2023, a day before the chaos at Michigan State.
"They hate me," he wrote multiple times in the note.
The department said that they had compiled a detailed timeline for McRae's movements on campus the day of the shooting. 911 dispatchers first received a call of shots fired at Berkey Hall at 8:18 p.m. local time, and officers entered the building two minutes later. At 8:24, McRae entered the Union building, and the first report of a shooting there was made at 8:26 p.m. At the same time, McRae exited the Union and left campus.
Emergency alerts were sent at 8:30 and 8:31 p.m. By 11:18, a photo of McRae had been shared on social media. At 11:35 p.m., 911 dispatchers received a call of a person matching McRae's description walking down a road.
At 11:49, officers approached McRae. He then shot himself.
The department said that in total, "2.5 days worth of calls" were received by 911 dispatchers in the five-hour window from when the shooting happened and when McRae died.
The news release emphasized that the investigation remains ongoing and that further updates may be shared in the future.