Michigan State University: Three killed and five wounded in shooting

The suspect on CCTV Credit: MSU Police and Public Safety via AP

Three people were killed and five injured after a gunman opened fire on Monday night at Michigan State University.

The gunman's death was announced by police four hours after the first shots were fired.

The shooting took place at the university's Berkey Hall, an academic building, and then nearby at the MSU Union, a popular hub to eat or study.

“This truly has been a nightmare we’re living tonight,” said Chris Rozman, interim deputy chief of the campus police department.

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Michigan State University Interim Deputy Chief Chris Rozman addresses the media on Monday Credit: AP

Hundreds of officers were involved in the search for the suspect during an hourslong manhunt, and he was later found dead off campus from a "self-inflicted gunshot wound," Rozman said.

Rozman said it was too early to know a motive and whether the man had some type of affiliation with the university. His name was not immediately released.

Sparrow Hospital spokesperson John Foren said he had no information on the conditions of five injured people taken there, though Rozman said some had life-threatening wounds.

By 10:15pm local time, police said Berkey, as well as nearby residence halls, were secured.

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First responders outside Berkey Hall Credit: AP

Before the gunman was found dead, WDIV-TV meteorologist Kim Adams, whose daughter attends Michigan State, told viewers that students were worn down by the saga.

“They’ve been hiding, all the lights off in a dark room,” Adams said. “Their cellphones 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 when there’s someone out there that they haven’t caught yet.”

Armed police officers with weapons drawn rush into Phillips Hall on the campus of Michigan State University. Credit: AP

Michigan State has about 50,000 students. All campus activities were cancelled for 48 hours, including sports and classes.

The shooting at Michigan State is the latest in what has become a deadly new year in the US.

Dozens of people have died in mass shootings so far in 2023, most notably in California where 11 people were killed as they welcomed the Lunar New Year at a dance hall popular with older Asian Americans.

In 2022, there were more than 600 mass shootings in the US in which at least four people were killed or injured, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

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