The Michigan State University 
Department of Police and Public Safety 
confirmed that three individuals 
were dead following the shooting at 
Michigan State University Monday 
night. At 8:31 p.m., MSU Police issued 
a safety alert in response to reports of 
gunshots heard at Berkey Residence 
Hall, urging anyone on campus to 
shelter-in-place or to “run, hide or 
fight.” The shelter-in-place advisory 
remained in effect until 12:30 a.m. 
when MSU Police reported the suspect 
was found dead and there was no threat 
to campus.
MSU police released the names of 
three victims Tuesday, all of whom 
were students: MSU sophomore Brian 
Fraser, MSU junior Alexandria Verner 
and MSU junior Arielle Anderson. Five 
additional victims were hospitalized 
with life threatening injuries Monday 
night and remain in critical condition 
Tuesday, according to MSU police. 
Following 
the 
attack, 
MSU 
announced 
all 
campus 
activities 
would be canceled through Thursday 
and classes would be canceled until 
Monday. MSU buildings remain open 
for students who live on campus. 
counseling services are also available 
across campus. A vigil to honor the 
victims will be held at 7 p.m Wednesday. 
Statues and other community 
gathering points on MSU’s campus 
have been decorated with flowers 
and signs mourning the victims and 
encouraging the campus community to 
remain “Spartan Strong,” according to 
pictures from The State News, MSU’s 
student-run newspaper. The State 
News reported that several students 
were leaving campus Tuesday to return 
home for the rest of the week, telling 
State News they didn’t feel safe on 
campus.
In a joint letter to the MSU staff, 
faculty and students, MSU Interim 
President Teresa K. Woodruff and 
Marlon C. Lynch, vice president 
for public safety and chief of police, 
thanked the first responders and MSU 
community members for their support 
throughout Monday night. 
“The safety and security of our 
campus community is our first priority,” 
Woodruff and Lynch wrote.“We want 
to thank all our campus residents for 
taking this threat seriously, securing in 
place and acting to protect themselves 
and others. We also want to thank the 
hundreds of people from MSU, local, 
state and federal law enforcement 
agencies and first responders who 
worked in a coordinated effort to 
respond to the shooting.”
In a news release Tuesday, MSU 
Police expressed their support and 
dedication to the campus community 
during the ongoing investigation of the 
shooting.
“We cannot begin to fathom the 
immeasurable amount of pain that our 

campus community is feeling,” the 
release said. “We want to ensure our 
community that our department as 
well as our law enforcement partners 
will conduct a comprehensive and 
thorough investigation regarding this 
tragic incident.”
The MSU Police commended the 
campus community for reporting 
updates on the shooting and looking 
after their personal safety, citing a 
caller’s tip that led the police to the 
suspect at 11:35 p.m. The suspect was 
found dead due to a self-inflicted 
gunshot wound. In a tweet Tuesday 
morning, MSU police reported that a 
threatening note was found with the 
suspect, leading several public school 
districts in the East Lansing area to 
close Tuesday. While the investigation 
remains 
ongoing, 
MSU 
Police 
confirmed that the 46-year-old suspect 
had no affiliation with MSU. 
The MSU Board of Trustees released 
a statement Tuesday afternoon, saying 
they have been in communication 
with the victims’ families and are 
encouraging community members to 
support each other. 
“This morning, the Board talked 
with families who lost their children 
due 
to 
senseless 
violence 
our 
community is suffering,” the statement 
read. “We are devastated with them 
and for them. Please hold space with 
the entire Spartan community as we 
navigate the weeks ahead. We will get 
through this difficult time by healing 
together.”
The 
Associated 
Students 
of 
Michigan State University, MSU’s 
undergraduate student government, 
also released a statement Tuesday 
afternoon expressing the shared feeling 
of grief and loss across the campus and 
condemning gun violence. 
“To all the victims and their 
families, we are absolutely devastated,” 
the statement read. “This is a loss felt 
by all of Spartan Nation, and the pain 
we feel is unbearable. It is one thing 
to acknowledge the horrible reality 
of gun violence in America, but it is 
another to experience it firsthand. 
This morning, we mourn not only the 
lives of our peers and friends but also 
the loss of the feeling of security and 
safety on campus. To all students who 
experienced this campus tragedy last 
night, our hearts go out to you during 
this unsettling time.”
University 
president 
Santa 
Ono sent a statement to 
U-M 
community 
members 
Tuesday 
morning, emphasizing 
that 
U-M 
campus 
administration 
is 
working closely with 
MSU and encouraging 
students, 
staff 
and 
faculty to reach out to 
one another.
“I know many in 
our community are 
reeling from this event 
as you have friends or 
family who belong to 
the MSU community,” 

Ono wrote. “I encourage us all to take 
a moment to show our appreciation 
and support for one another. Support 
resources are available on campus for 
students, faculty and staff.”
Ono also ordered all flags on the U-M 
campus to be lowered to half mast until 
further notice to honor the victims. 
The University of Michigan will host a 
candlelight vigil, organized by the U-M 
Central Student Government, in honor 
of the victims of the shooting at 7 p.m. 
on the Diag Wednesday night. 
The 
University 
of 
Michigan 
community said they are working to 
ensure that all three of its campuses 
remain safe. All campuses remained 
open Tuesday with increased security 
presence from the Division of Public 
Safety and Security.
The U-M CSG also tweeted a 
statement in support of the MSU 
community.
“Central Student Government is 

horrified at the events of an active 
shooting last night at Michigan State,” 
the statement read. “We stand with 
our fellow students … as they mourn 
this tragedy, and send our support to all 
Spartans.” 
CSG shared a list of resources 
available to U-M students across 
campus on social media accounts 
Tuesday afternoon. 
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, an MSU 
alum and a parent of two MSU 
students, released a statement Monday 
morning expressing her support for the 
MSU community. Whitmer also 
turned to social media to criticize 
the lack of gun control in 
Michigan and across the 
United States.
“MSU’s 
campus 
is 
a special place for so 

many, and it is now the site of another 
senseless act of gun violence,” Whitmer 
wrote. “Parents across Michigan were 
on pins and needles calling their kids 
to check in on them and tell them 
they love them. It doesn’t have to be 
this way. Certain places are supposed 
to be about community, learning, or 
joy — elementary schools and college 
campuses, movie theaters and dance 
halls, grocery stores and workplaces. 
They should not be the sites of 
bloodshed. This is a uniquely American 
problem. Too many of us scan rooms 
for exits when we enter them. We plan 
who that last text or call would go to. 
We should not, we cannot, accept living 
like this.”
Michigan 
House 
and 
Senate 
lawmakers canceled session Tuesday 
in response to the shooting. At a 
press conference, Whitmer called 
on lawmakers to immediately draft 
and send her proposals to enact 

universal 
background 
checks 
for 
anyone purchasing weapons as well as 
proposals that would tighten storage 
requirements to keep guns away from 
those deemed a danger to themselves 
or others.
Some Democrat lawmakers in 
the state expressed support for this 
type of legislature to prevent future 
gun 
violence, 
including 
Senate 
Majority 
Leader 
Winnie 
Brinks, 
D-Grand Rapids, 
Sen. 
Rosemary 
Bayer, 
D-Keego 
Harbor, and 
Rep. Joe Tate, 
D-Detroit, an 

MSU alum. In a statement issued on 
Tuesday, Tate wrote that the shooting 
should be a wake-up call for Michigan 
lawmakers who have been hesitant to 
enact gun reform policy.
“I graduated from Michigan State 
University 20 years ago, and I am once 
and forever a Spartan,” Tate wrote. 
“The dread I felt last night as I heard 
the news of a gunman on campus was 
quickly replaced by anger … We have a 
choice. We can continue to debate the 
reasons for gun violence in America, 
or we can act. We cannot continue to 
do the same thing over and over again 
and hope for a different outcome. 
Multiple people were shot and killed 
at Michigan State University. I have 
no understanding left for those in 
a position to effect change who are 
unwilling to act.”
United States President Joe Biden 
spoke with Whitmer Monday night 
and deployed FBI officers to help 
with the response, according to The 
Detroit News. Biden expressed his 
support for the families of the victims 
of the shooting in a statement Tuesday 
afternoon, mentioning the importance 
of gun reform at a federal level as well. 
“As I said in my State of the Union 
address last week, Congress must do 
something and enact common sense 
gun law reforms,” Biden wrote. “Action 
is what we owe to those grieving today 
in Michigan and across America.” 
The State News shared information 
about the lives and legacies of the three 
student victims Tuesday, all of whom 
have had a positive impact on the 
campus community.
Fraser was a business and economics 
student from Grosse Pointe, Mich. He 
was also the MSU Chapter President 
of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, which 
posted on Instagram about his legacy at 
the fraternity.
“Brian was our leader, and we loved 
him,” the post read. “He cared deeply 
about his Phi Delt brothers, his family, 
Michigan State University, and Phi 
Delta Theta. We will greatly miss Brian 
and mourn his death deeply as our 
chapter supports each other during this 
difficult time.”
In an interview with Bridge 
Michigan, Fraser’s longtime friend 
and fraternity brother Will White said 
Fraser was the best friend he could 
have asked for. The two graduated 
from Grosse Pointe South High School 
together in 2021 before attending 
MSU and pledging the same 
fraternity. 
“(Fraser was) a gentleman,” 
White said. “Cared about his 
friends a lot. Like the best friend I 
could ever ask for, honestly.” 
Verner was an Integrated Biology 

and 
Anthropology 
student 
from 
Clawson, MI. Those who knew Verner 
knew her as a leader and athlete who 
embodied kindness, according to a 
Facebook post by Clawson Public 
Schools. She was a basketball, volleyball 
and all-state softball player all four 
years of high school. 
Billy Shellenbarger, Clawson Public 
Schools superintendent and former 
Clawson 
High 
School 
principal, 
released a statement to the district 
Tuesday, describing Verner as a student 
who was loved by everyone around.
“Alex was and is incredibly loved by 
everyone,” Shellenbarger wrote. “She 
was a tremendous student, athlete 
and leader and exemplified kindness 
every day of her life. … If you knew 
her, you loved her and we will forever 
remember the lasting impact she has 
had on all of us.”
Verner’s 
father, 
Ted 
Verner, 
described her as a beautiful soul in an 
interview with The Washington Post.
“It’s going to be my mission in life 
to make sure that families don’t go 
(through) what we went through,” 
Verner said.
Anderson 
was 
an 
aspiring 
pediatrician from Harper Woods 
who loved cooking, movie nights and 
documenting pieces of her life on 
Youtube. She was working towards 
graduating from MSU a year early to 
achieve her goal of becoming a surgeon.
Anderson’s 
uncle 
Tim 
Davis 
described her as an exemplary Spartan 
in an interview with The Detroit News.
“She was just sweet and innocent,” 
Tim Davis said. “In my opinion, she 
was just perfect the way she conducted 
herself. She had great manners and 
was respectful. She was very smart, a 
straight-A student. I’m pretty sure you 
will hear that from everybody.”
Anderson’s mother Dawana Davis 
issued a statement on behalf of the 
entire family Tuesday evening.
“We lost our precious daughter, 
granddaughter, sister, niece, cousin, 
and friend, Arielle Anderson,” Dawana 
Davis wrote. “She means the world to 
us. As much as we loved her, she loved 
us and others even more. She was 
passionate about helping her friends 
and family, assisting children and 
serving people.” 
As the story continues to develop, 
we encourage readers to follow 
The Michigan Daily’s coverage and 
coverage by The State News. 

Co-Editor in Chief Shannon Stocking 
can be reached at sstockin@umich.edu. 
Daily Staff Reporter Sneha Dhandapani 
can be reached at sdhanda@umich.edu. 

GOT A NEWS TIP?
E-mail news@michigandaily.com and let 
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INDEX
Vol. CXXXII, No. 104
©2023 The Michigan Daily

N E WS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

M I C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

S TAT E M E N T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

O P I N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
michigandaily.com

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michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, February 15, 2023

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY TWO YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

3 students dead following shooting at 
Michigan State University

SHANNON STOCKING, & 
SNEHA DHANDAPANI
Co-Editor in Chief & 
Daily News Editor

The Michigan Daily would like to express our deepest condolences to our peers at Michigan State University and our colleagues at The 

State News. Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the victims, as well as the entire East Lansing community.

“Action is what we 
owe to those grieving 
today in Michigan and 
across America.”

President Joe Biden 

DESIGN BY ABBY SCHRECK