Michigan Shooting Suspect Had A Note Threatening To Attack Two NJ Schools

Michigan State University shooting suspect Anthony McRae had a note threatening to attack two schools in Ewing Township, New Jersey, prompting local authorities to close all public schools in the township for one day.

In a statement released Tuesday, the Ewing Police Department said that the mass shooter was found with a note in his pocket after Michigan police found him dead.

"When McRae was found by police in Michigan, he had a note in his pocket that indicated a threat to two Public Schools," the police department wrote, without elaborating on the exact nature. "Out of an abundance of caution, the Ewing Public Schools were closed for the day."

Additionally, officers from Ewing and surrounding agencies were reportedly stationed at the local schools during the investigation.

According to the township police, McRae had "local ties" to Ewing. After their investigation, they concluded that the incident was isolated to Michigan, and Ewing schools no longer faced a threat.

McRae had not lived in Ewing in several years, the police department said.

Authorities said that McRae killed himself Monday night, three hours after fatally shooting three students and injuring five others at Michigan State University.

The motive behind the shooting is yet to be discovered.

"We have absolutely no idea what the motive was at this point," Chris Rozman of the Michigan State University Police said, as quoted by the BBC.

The student victims remain in critical condition, according to Sparrow Hospital chief medical officer Dr. Denny Martin.

"This is something that we practice for very often, but never want to do," Martin said, breaking down during the press conference.

McRae opened fire at around 8:30 p.m. local time Monday at Berkey Hall, a building located north of the MSU campus in the city of East Lansing. After killing and injuring multiple students, McRae fled the scene and was found hours later at 11:45 p.m. in Lansing City.

MSU president Teresa Woodruff announced that all campus activities were canceled for at least two days after the incident "to give ourselves time to think and to grieve and to be together."

"Students or representatives of students who were in the MSU Union are welcome to meet FBI employees and victim specialists at the West entrance of the Union beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 15," the university wrote on its website.

In a statement on the same day, President Joe Biden said that Congress must enact gun law reforms to combat deadly mass shootings.

"As I said in my State of the Union address last week, Congress must do something and enact commonsense gun law reforms, including requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, closing loopholes in our background check system, requiring safe storage of guns, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets," he said. "Action is what we owe to those grieving today in Michigan and across America."