Michigan State University Police Chief Mike Yankowski speaks during a press conference at the Department of Police and Public Safety headquarters on campus in East Lansing, Mich., on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, where officials said Wells Hall will remain closed through May 1 after alleged criminal activity, including operating a methamphetamine lab, led to property damage and charges against a suspect.
Michigan State University Police announced Wednesday evening that a 31-year-old man was arrested for allegedly running a meth lab in Wells Hall.
Campus police said that suspect Xin Tong was arrested and faces felony criminal charges for malicious destruction of a building over $20,000 and “felony controlled substance-operate/maintain lab involving methamphetamine.”
Tong was arraigned earlier today and is being held at the Ingham County Jail on a $500,000 cash or surety bond.
MSU Police Chief Mike Yankowski, in a press conference Wednesday evening, said he could not comment on if Tong was a student or faculty member due to student privacy laws.
During this past week the campus police responded to reports of property damage inside Wells Hall, which was “directly related to alleged criminal activity.”
MSU Police made contact with Tong Sunday night on the fifth floor of Wells Hall after being dispatched for a trespassing complaint. MSU announced that the building would be closed on Monday morning.
Police said Tong was in possession of “of multiple substances that can be legally purchased in retail stores or online” including sodium hydroxide pellets, hydrochloric acid, methanol, isopropyl alcohol, acetone, and butane.
Yankowski said these substances were found in several bags in Tong’s possession when MSU Police made contact with him on Sunday. After getting a search warrant early Monday morning, police searched the bags and found “several labeled and unlabeled containers of an unknown liquid substance inside.”
“Due to the fact that they were unsure what those substances were, (officers) requested some additional public safety resources,” he added.
MSU then made the decision to shut down Wells Hall for the remainder of the day Monday to conduct a full search of the building and better assess the situation.
Once DPPS developed probable cause to arrest Tong from their ongoing investigation the case was presented to the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office earlier today, with felony charges issued shortly after.
According to Ingham County Jail Records the Department of Homeland Security has placed a hold on Tong’s bond.
Yankowski said this hold is “not part of our investigation.”
“We don't get into the immigration status of individuals,” he added. “Our focus is the criminal investigation.”
Yankowski, in a campus-wide email Wednesday evening, wrote that multiple tests performed by the Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) confirmed “the environment in Wells Hall does not pose a risk to our community.”
After first indicating that Wells would reopen on Tuesday, officials decided to close the building for the remainder of the week.
The decision was made to provide DPPS time to gather evidence and allow EHS to “inspect the building, clean and assess damage to flooring, fixtures and other surfaces, and work with Infrastructure Planning and Facilities (IPF) to remediate and ultimately restore the impacted spaces. ”
Although Yankowski said MSU is still evaluating the exact cost to repair Wells Hall facilities, he said “it's a significant amount, well above $20,000.”
Wells Hall will remain closed through Friday, May 1, as the building is evaluated to ensure its safety for occupants.
University Spokesperson Emily Guerrant said 469 exams that were planned to take place in Wells Hall have been rescheduled in alternate locations.
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