Students stand outside Campbell Hall surrounded by police after being released from the shelter-in-place during the mass shooting on Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, located at Michigan State University’s North Neighborhood.
State, local and university leaders have expressed both outrage and support for the residents of East Lansing and Michigan State University after a mass shooting on Monday, Feb. 13, which left three dead and five in critical condition.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers from across the state responded to the shooting, which began at Berkey Hall before 8:30 p.m. before a second shooting occurred shortly after at the MSU Union.
U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (MI-07) praised law enforcement's response to the "deeply complex" issues unfolding on campus on Monday night. Young people were calling in tips constantly and the environment was "unbelievably difficult to navigate," Slotkin said at a Tuesday morning press conference.
"As the representative of Oxford, Michigan, I cannot believe that I'm here again doing this 15 months later," Slotkin said. "And I am filled with rage that we have to have another press conference to talk about our children being killed in their schools.”
Slotkin said the most haunting picture of Monday night was watching the cameras pan through the crowds and seeing a young person wearing an 'Oxford strong' sweatshirt.
“The sweatshirts were handed out after those kids lived through a school shooting 15 months ago," Slotkin said. "We have children in Michigan living through their second school shooting in under a year and a half.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said mass shootings are "a uniquely American problem."
She noted the shooting comes one day shy of the fifth anniversary of the Parkland, Florida shooting, weeks after shooting at a dance hall in Monterey Park, California and several months after an elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
“We cannot keep living like this. Our children are scared to go to school,” Whitmer said. “People feel unsafe in their houses of worship or local stores. Too many of us scan rooms for exits when we enter them. And many of us have gone through the grim exercise of figuring out who our last call would be to.”
A lot of students on MSU's campus made these kinds of calls last night, as they worried for their lives and their friends, Whitmer said.
Many Michiganders' lives are changed forever, Whitmer said.
Interim President Teresa Woodruff said MSU will be operating under modified operations on Tuesday and Wednesday for all campus activities including athletics and classes. Normal operations will resume on Thursday.
All MSU Classes will be canceled until Monday, Feb. 20.
“Our spartan hearts are broken,” Woodruff said. “We're grieving, as a community, we're grieving together. We struggle to comprehend. We lost families, friends, classmates and our hearts go out to the victims of this senseless tragedy.”
Woodruff said she thanks the medical professionals at Sparrow Hospital who are currently treating the shooting victims currently in critical condition.
“We will provide resources students need for the time period they need and we thank the federal government for their response,” Woodruff said.
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) said in a press statement that the community will come together to get through the tragedy, but she is said and angry that they have to.
“Once again, gun violence has touched a Michigan community,” Stabenow said in the statement. “I am grieving for my fellow Spartans today – for the lives lost, the injured, and all of the students, parents, MSU employees and local residents who will be living with fear for a long time to come. I am grateful too for the first responders who put their own lives on the line to keep people safe.”
President Joe Biden said in a Tuesday afternoon statement that he was grieving for East Lansing and Lansing.
"Too Many American communities have been devastated by gun violence," Biden said, noting that more must be done.
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A community mental health resource is open 24/7 and can be accessed by calling (517) 346-8460. Students can access free, confidential counseling 24/7 by calling (517) 355-8270 and dialing "1" at the prompt. The Hannah Community Center will have drop-in counseling services will be available for the community beginning at 9 a.m.
“Spartans will cry and hold each other a little closer. We will mourn the loss of beautiful souls and pray for those fighting for their lives in the hospital," Whitmer said.
