What happened
On the night of Feb. 13, three Michigan State University students were fatally shot and five more were wounded when a gunman opened fire on the university campus.
MSU junior Arielle Anderson, sophomore Brian Fraser and junior Alexandria Verne were killed in the mass shooting, AP reported. All three students were killed inside buildings that the gunman shot into.
The gunman died the same night of self-inflicted gunshot wounds. The 43-year-old was identified as Anthony Dwayne McRae. AP reported that there is no current known motivation or association with the university, according to police.
In context
This was the 67th shooting of 2023, and as of Feb. 20 there have been 82 mass shootings in total. Three of those shootings have occurred in Georgia: two in Columbus a day apart in February and one in Albany on Jan. 8.
Insider reported that some students who had suffered through the trauma of the Oxford High School shooting in Oxford, Michigan were on campus during the shooting last week.
“I never expected in my lifetime to have to experience two school shootings,” Andrea Ferguson, parent of a current MSU student who attended Oxford High School, told CNN. “There’s several kids there that our daughter’s friends with that are going through the same thing.”
The shooting also happened one day before the five-year anniversary of the 14 students and 3 school staff members killed at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida in 2018.
According to everystat.org, Michigan is the No. 15 state in the U.S. for rates of gun violence.
“In an average year, 1,212 people die and 3,507 are wounded by guns in Michigan.” the site reported.
The Latest
Democratic representatives of Michigan in the Senate have proposed eleven bills regarding tightening gun ownership laws in the state. Gun reform has quickly moved up as a top priority for Democrats in state and federal legislation.
“As parents we tell our kids, it’s gonna be okay. We say that all the time,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said. “But the truth is words are not good enough. We must act and we will.”
The bills target red-flag laws, which restrict gun ownership to people who can be considered threats to others or themselves. The bills also tighten safe gun storage requirements and criminal background checks before firearm purchases.
“It is upon us, specifically us here in this room,” Sen. Rosemary Bayer (D) said, according to Michigan Radio. “Us, to address this horrible problem. And I’m not talking about thoughts and prayers.” Bayer was one of the politicians who tried to begin an action for a similar bill package on gun reform after the Oxford High School shooting last year.
