Three people were killed and five wounded in shootings at Michigan State University late on Monday evening.
Gunfire was first heard at Berkey Hall and later at the nearby at the MSU Union, a popular hub forstudents to eat or study.
Roughly four hours later, after a major manhunt, the suspected gunman was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police at a news conference on Tuesday identified the gunman as 43-year-old Anthony McRae.
They said he shot himself miles away from campus while being confronted by police.
Michigan State lifted a shelter-in-place order that had been in place for students since about 8.30pm on Monday, local time.
The suspect was earlier described as a short man wearing a denim jacket and ball cap, said Chris Rozman, interim deputy chief of the campus police department.
Mr Rozman said it was too early to know a motive and whether the man had some type of affiliation with the university.
“There’s a lot that we don’t know at this point,” said Mr Rozman.
He added two people were killed at Berkey and another was killed at the MSU Union.
At least five victims were at Sparrow Hospital, said hospital spokesperson John Foren, who had no information on their conditions.
By 10.15pm local time, police said Berkey, as well as nearby residence halls, were secured.
Aedan Kelley, a junior who lives a half-mile east of the campus, said he locked his doors and covered his windows “just in case”. Sirens were constant, he said, and a helicopter hovered overhead.
“It’s all very frightening,” Mr Kelley said. “And then I have all these people texting me wondering if I’m OK, which is overwhelming.”
Authorities announced late on Monday that all campus activities would be cancelled for 48 hours, including athletics and classes. Via Twitter, people were advised not to come to campus on Tuesday.
Michigan State has about 50,000 students. East Lansing is about 90 miles (145 kilometres) northwest of Detroit.
The East Lansing High School auditorium, where a school board meeting was being held on Monday night, was locked down and people were being prevented by police from leaving, the Lansing State Journal reported.
