East Lansing, Mich., Feb. 14 (BNA): A gunman opened fire Monday night at Michigan State University, killing three people and wounding five others, before shooting himself off campus amid an hours-long chase during which terrified students hid in the dark . .
Police reported the man’s death early Tuesday, four hours after the shooting broke out, first at Berkey Hall, an academic building, and then nearby at MSU Union, a popular dining or study center.
“This has been a true nightmare we’re living through tonight,” Chris Rosman, interim deputy chief of the campus police department, told the Associated Press.
Hundreds of officers scoured the East Lansing campus, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Detroit, searching for the suspect, who police described as a short black man wearing red boots, a jean jacket and a ball cap.
Roseman said it was too early to know the motive and whether the man had some kind of connection to the university. His name was not immediately revealed.
“There’s a lot we don’t know at this point,” Roseman said.
He said two people were killed in Berkeley and one was killed in MSU.
Sparrow Hospital spokesman John Furen said he had no information on the condition of five patients.
By 10:15 p.m., police said Berkeley was secured, as were nearby residence halls.
Before the gunman was found dead, WDIV-TV meteorologist Kim Adams, whose daughter attends Michigan State, told viewers that the hours-long saga exhausted the students.
“They were hiding, all the lights out in a dark room,” Adams said. “Their cell phones are starting to lose battery charge. They don’t all have chargers with them and losing contact with the outside world is terrifying on a normal day for college kids, let alone with someone they haven’t caught yet.”
Aidan Kelly, a junior student who lives half a mile (less than a kilometer) east of campus, said he closed his doors and covered his windows “just in case.” He said sirens were going on and a helicopter was flying overhead.
“It’s all very scary,” Kelly said. “And then I have all these people texting me and asking if I’m okay, and it’s overwhelming.”
Michigan State has about 50,000 students. All campus activities have been canceled for 48 hours, including athletics and classes.