Sandy Hook survivor attending Michigan State: Living through 2nd mass shooting ‘incomprehensible’
A Michigan State student, a Sandy Hook survivor, is speaking out in a viral video in which she says the idea of living through two mass shootings is “incomprehensible.”
Police identified the 43-year-old man who killed three students and wounded five at Michigan State University, saying Tuesday that a tip from the public led to a confrontation with officers miles from campus where the gunman fatally shot himself.
It has been 10 years and two months, she said, and PTSD is very much part of her life.
The student recorded a message, saying she was across the street from where the shooting took place.
“The fact that this is the second mass shooting that I have lived through is incomprehensible,” she said. “My heart goes out to all the families and friends of the victims of this Michigan State shooting.
“We can no longer provide just love and prayers. There needs to be legislation. There needs to be action. It’s not OK. We can no longer allow this to happen. We can no longer be complacent.”
Investigators still were sorting out why Anthony McRae fired inside Berkey Hall and the MSU Union — a popular place for students to eat and study — shortly before 8:30 p.m. Monday. The shootings led to a campus lockdown and a manhunt that ended roughly three hours later.
The dead and injured all were students. Five remained in critical condition at Sparrow Hospital, said Dr. Denny Martin, who fought back tears during a news conference.
“I’ll forever be Sandy Hook strong and forever be Spartan strong,” the student said.
Dozens of people have died in mass shootings so far in 2023, most notably in California, where 11 people were killed as they welcomed the Lunar New Year at a dance hall popular with older Asian Americans.
In 2022, there were more than 600 mass shootings in the U.S. in which at least four people were killed or wounded, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.