At least three people were killed and several more injured in a shooting at Michigan State University, according to campus police. The suspected attacker died from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
University police tweeted on Monday that shots were fired in two locations: near an academic building called Berkey Hall and an athletic facility known as IM East.
Michigan State University (MSU) police initially ordered students and staff to shelter in place after a report of shots fired around the school’s East Lansing campus.
An alert was sent shortly after 8.30pm by the university’s police department, advising students to “run, hide, fight”.
After searches that went on for more than four hours, MSU police announced at 12.30am on Tuesday morning that the suspected shooter had been found dead off campus.
While appealing for information from the public, the police said it was unclear what the motive for the attack may have been and work to identify the suspect was ongoing.
UPDATE: The suspect has been located off campus. It appears he has died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. There is no longer a threat to campus and the shelter-in-place has been lifted. pic.twitter.com/6s2KGvoKpV
— MSU Police and Public Safety (@msupolice) February 14, 2023
Earlier in the evening, police released images of the suspect, describing him as a short male wearing a mask.
The Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, was briefed on the shooting and tweeted her support for the community.
“Let’s wrap our arms around the Spartan community tonight,” she said, referring to the university’s athletic logo.
MSU’s flagship East Lansing campus, about 90 miles (145km) north-west of Detroit, has 50,000 graduate and undergraduate students. University police said all classes and campus activities would be canceled for the next 48 hours.
Reuters and Agence-France Presse contributed to this report
