Grosse Pointe prayer service remembers MSU shooting victims
GROSSE POINTE FARMS, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - On a night that left many with tears in their eyes, hundreds of people poured into St. Paul on the Lake Catholic Church in Grosse Pointe Farms for a prayer service Tuesday.
There, loved ones lit candles in memory of not only Brian Fraser, who grew up going to the church, but also Arielle Anderson and Alexandria Verner.
"There's no one word to describe him," one of Fraser's childhood friends said.
Fraser was a 2021 graduate of Grosse Point South High School where he was on the swim and dive team with Ryan Matheson, who left Tuesday's prayer service in tears.
"Went to high school with him, swam with him, worked with him," Matheson said.
A sophomore at Michigan State University, Fraser was studying business and was president of local Phi Delta Theta Fraternity leaving a lasting impression no matter how long or little you knew him.
"Only knowing him for just one month, he was a great guy. There was a reason he was the president of the fraternity. There is a reason there is an impact right now," an MSU student and fraternity brother of Fraser's told CBS News Detroit.
Like Fraser, 19-year-old Arielle Anderson also graduated in 2021 but from Grosse Pointe North, where a moment of silence was held before a basketball game.
"It was a moment of disbelief. I had a parent say, Jon, this has to be wrong. And I said I wish it was wrong," Grosse Pointe Public Schools Superintendent Jon Dean told reporters at a press conference.
Anderson known for her love and compassion, the same that Clawson Public Schools Superintendent Billy Shell can say about Alexandria Verner who was a 2020 graduate, three sport athlete and an outstanding student.
"As a dad myself, when you are trying to coach up your kids on who to give your energy to, who to give your time to so they'll have a successful path in life, Al is one of those kids that you tell your son marry a girl like Al, be friends with a girl like Al, learn from her," Shell said.
Verner was a junior studying forensic science at MSU and while her life was cut short like the rest, it can't erase the memories of what she, Anderson or Fraser leave behind.
"It should be about nothing else. No cowards who took her life, no other storylines other than who she is as a human being," Shell said.
"It's good to see that there were so many people willing to come out for him and it probably means a lot to his family," Matheson said.
Funeral arrangements have been announced for both Fraser and Verner. Visitation for Brian Fraser will take place on Friday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Verheyden Funeral Home in Grosse Pointe Park. He will lie in state on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Saint Paul Catholic Church in Grosse Pointe. His funeral will follow.
A viewing for Alexandria Verner will take place on Friday, Feb. 17 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Guardian Angels Church on 14 Mile Road in Clawson. Her funeral is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 18 at 11 a.m. at the Guardian Angels Church.
Funeral arrangements for Anderson have not been announced.
