The Michigan State University gunman’s brother said “God only knows” why Anthony McRae opened fire on the East Lansing campus Monday night, but said Anthony hasn’t been the same since his mother died a few years ago. almost three years.
Anthony McRae, 43, had no connection to MSU, police said, making the deadly attack all the more puzzling.
His brother Michael McRae told Fox News Digital that his brother “changed” after their mother died in September 2020, and Anthony stopped taking care of himself, quit his job, didn’t look for work and spent all his time gambling. video game.
“I lived in a sheltered world,” Michael told Fox News Digital in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon. “It started to change. He was getting more and more bitter and angry. I ask him: ‘What’s on your mind?’ But he didn’t want to talk to me.”
MSU SHOOTER WHO KILLED 3 STUDENTS, INJURED 5 IDENTIFIED AS ANTHONY MCRAE: LIVE UPDATES
The suspect, Anthony McRae, in a deadly shooting at Michigan State University in East Lansing Monday night died apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. (MSU Police and Public Safety/LOCAL NEWS X/TMX)
Michael said he tried to take him to church as a way to help, but Anthony “jumped in and out of the Bible.”
“I told him the devil doesn’t make you do anything you don’t want to,” Michael said. “He was a good boy. He was a good worker. He just got out of control. I tried to help him.”
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Anthony McRae fatally shot three MSU students and critically wounded five more around 8:30 p.m. Monday, according to police, sparking a tense, hour-long manhunt as students ran and hid where they could.
About four hours after the first shots rang out, a tip from the public led police to McRae, who turned the gun on himself and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Michigan State shooter who killed 3 students, wounded 5 identified as Anthony McRae. (Michigan Department of Corrections)
“I didn’t know what happened. My neighbor told me that he heard the news that Anthony killed people and shot others, but he couldn’t believe it,” Michael said. “I don’t want to believe that he did this. I don’t know what would make him think of doing this…he’s not the type of person to do this.”
Investigators indicated that Anthony McRae had a history of mental illness, and officers told 911 dispatchers that they were called in for a wellness check last week.
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY SHOOTER ANTHONY MCRAE FOUND DEAD AFTER ADVICE CALL TO POLICE, OFFICIALS SAY
Lansing police declined to provide details about the welfare check, telling Fox News Digital in an email: “Her history is part of the investigation, so we cannot comment at this time.”
McRae was on probation for 18 months through May 2021 for possessing a concealed loaded weapon without a permit, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections.
Students gather on the Michigan State University campus after a shelter-in-place order was lifted early Tuesday, February 14, in East Lansing, Michigan. (AP/Al Goldis)
The names of the three students who died had not been released as of Tuesday afternoon.
Four of the five students who were injured required surgery and all are in critical condition, said Dr. Denny Martin, interim president and chief medical officer of E. W. Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, he said during the press conference on Tuesday morning.
First responders perform outside Berkey Hall on the Michigan State University campus, Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis) (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
“This is something we talked about this morning that we practice a lot but never want to have to, and we did amazing too,” said Martin, who was visibly emotional and fighting back tears. “We can’t forget that we had general surgeons and cardiothoracic surgeons, neurosurgeons who didn’t get much sleep last night.
“So many people just coming in, we got a lot of texts saying, you know, ‘I’m on my way,’ only with people showing up where they needed to be. It was a sad but very proud night for all of us here.” .
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hundreds of officers from the FBI, ATF, Michigan State Police, and other law enforcement agencies assisted local officials in securing the campus.
The FAA implemented temporary flight restrictions over the university campus through Wednesday.
