Michigan State shooter’s note says he felt hated, rejected

A man who fatally shot three students and wounded five others on the Michigan State University campus left a note describing himself as being “hated,” a “loner” and an “outcast.”

Anthony McRae, 43, also wrote “I’m tired of being rejected” in the note, which was dated the day before the Feb. 13 shooting and released Friday by police.

“They made me who I’m am today a killer,” the note read. “I’m a person,” and “They hate me why? why? why? why?”

McRae, who lived in nearby Lansing, had no connection to the school. The rampage began shortly after 8 p.m. on Feb. 13 when shots were fired inside a classroom at Berkey Hall, which is easily accessible from Grand River Avenue, a major street in East Lansing.

McRae then fired more shots nearby at the MSU Union, a landmark building where students can snack and study, and the public, too, can visit. Security video released Friday shows McRae checking his gun as he entered through a rear door.

At 8:30 p.m., an alert went out to students and staff to shelter in place and “run, hide, fight” if necessary. Authorities didn’t know that McRae already had left campus.

Police put a photo of him on social media at 11:18 p.m. A 911 call was received just 17 minutes later from someone who saw a person matching his description in Lansing. McRae shot himself about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) from campus at 11:49 p.m. when approached by officers.

Detectives found two handguns and ammunition. The note was found in his pocket.

“There’s a group of us, 20 of us and I’m the leader,” also was written on it. “I will be shooting up MSU and some of the other groups will be going to Colorado Springs to shoot up (redacted). Another team of … group will be going to New Jersey and they will shoot up (redacted) High school and (redacted) Middle school. They hurted me”

McRae’s claim to be acting with others is unfounded, authorities said Friday.

Police said their investigation was not finished. McRae’s route after he left the campus still was being reviewed.

About 1,450 calls were made to the county’s 911 dispatch center from the start of the shootings to 1 a.m. Feb. 15, police said. It wasn’t clear how many calls were related to the shootings.

Killed were Arielle Anderson, 19; Brian Fraser, 20; and Alexandria Verner, 20, all of suburban Detroit.

Starting Monday, access to most buildings on campus will be restricted at night. Students, faculty and staff will need to use campus ID cards to get electronic access at buildings, between 6 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. on weekdays. The school said it wants to make it possible to lock 1,300 classrooms from the inside by the fall semester.

The campus is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Detroit.

The shooting happened the day before the fifth anniversary of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting that killed 17.

In 2019, McRae was accused of illegally possessing a concealed weapon, according to the state Corrections Department. But he pleaded guilty to having a loaded gun in a vehicle, a misdemeanor that did not disqualify him from possessing a firearm. He completed 18 months of probation.