Investigators vetting possible motive from MSU gunman
EAST LANSING, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – Investigators are vetting a possible motive they found in a note the suspected Michigan State University gunman wrote.
They say it contained the thoughts of a man angry at the world who rarely left his bedroom at the house he shared with his father.
"His father didn't believe that he had any friends, let alone 20 of them, that would help them put this out," Lt. Rene Gonzalez with Michigan State Police said during a news conference Wednesday.
Although Anthony McRae wanted people to believe several others were involved in Monday's massacre at MSU, state police confirm the 43-year-old acted alone.
Following up on a tip that night, two Lansing police officers spotted him walking home.
"They exited their vehicle, ordered him to show his hands; however, he produced a weapon and then killed himself," Gonzalez said.
On him, they found a two-page handwritten note in which police say McRae felt slighted at the world, making threats against a church, schools in Ewing, New Jersey, where he lived several years ago, and his former workplace.
"Through our investigation, he had contact with some of those places. He was an employee of the Meijer warehouse at one time. In a couple of the other businesses, it appears that he'd had some issues with the employees there, where he was asked to leave," Gonzalez said.
McRae was carrying dozens of rounds of ammo and two handguns which weren't registered but purchased legally after the former Ingham County prosecutor, Carol Siemon, agreed to give him a plea deal in 2019 for a weapons charge that knocked it down from a felony to a misdemeanor.
"We all hope that the prosecutor would uphold the law as it's written. There is always room for some type of discrepancy or discretion. However, that one will be under scrutiny for a long time," Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee said.
In a statement, Siemon denied ever having a direct connection to the case writing in part: "the vast majority of cases are resolved by pleas, so that in and of itself is not noteworthy or exceptional." going on to say, "even those barred from legally possessing a firearm can, sadly, readily obtain one or more illegally."
Investigators are examining a cell phone and journals they collected at McRae's home to learn the 'why' behind this heinous act.
"That's the question on all our minds, and we're working our best to try to determine that as best as possible," Interim Deputy Chief Chris Rozman with MSU Police said
Although the university has said, McRae has no ties to MSU. Investigators are also looking into a claim that McRae was turned down for a job at the university.
Besides the 2019 weapons charge, Lansing police questioned McRaein in 2005 for a larceny case. The following year, officers pulled him over for a traffic violation, as was the case twice in 2007.
