The Chinese Consulate General in Chicago has condemned the recent shooting at Michigan State University that killed three students and injured five others, including two Chinese students.
The shooting reportedly occurred on Monday night in East Lansing, Michigan, when a lone shooter, identified as Anthony Dwayne McRae, 43, opened fire on the campus, injuring five students and killing three others before killing himself with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities are investigating a note found on McRae’s body to determine the shooter’s motives.
“That was the note that indicated where he was going to visit and also kind of gave an indication of why, maybe a motive, but nothing we can actually confirm just yet,” Michigan State Police Lt. Rene Gonzalez said on Thursday.
Authorities also reportedly found two handguns, a backpack containing eight magazines fully loaded with 9-millimeter bullets, another fully loaded magazine in McRae’s breast pocket and a smaller bag filled with 50 bullets. Investigators said that the shooter used one of the handguns to shoot himself and that the two firearms were purchased legally but were not registered.
While police have identified the three students killed in the incident as Alexandria Verner, 20; Brian Fraser, 20; and Arielle Anderson, 19, the school and authorities have yet to release the names of the injured victims, noting they were severely injured.
In a statement on Thursday, the Chinese Consulate General in Chicago confirmed that two international Chinese students were among the injured students but are now out of danger after receiving surgical treatment.
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Sparrow Hospital in Lansing reportedly listed four students in critical condition and one in stable condition as of Thursday.
“The hospital is further evaluating the next treatment plan. We sincerely hope that the injured students will recover soon,” the Chinese Consulate General in Chicago wrote in an English-translated statement, WWMT reported.
The statement added that the office has also reached out to the Chinese students’ families and is offering assistance for their travel to the United States.
So far, only one of the injured victims has been identified. Guadalupe Huapilla-Perez, the child of migrant workers from Florida, was a Michigan State University junior.
Over 4,200 international students had been enrolled at Michigan State University as of Spring 2021, with the majority of them — 2,363 — coming from China, according to the school’s Office for International Students and Scholars.
The Chinese Consulate General in Chicago condemned the incident in their statement and said that a response system was activated following the “shocking” incident.
The Chinese Consulate General in Chicago expresses its strong indignation and severe condemnation of the murderer’s brutal crime of killing innocent people indiscriminately. After the shooting incident, the Consulate General attached great importance to it and immediately activated the emergency response mechanism.
The recent incident reportedly marked the third time that Chinese individuals have been harmed and/or killed due to gun violence in the U.S. this year.
At least five Chinese nationals have been killed in two separate shooting cases since January, with the first occurring in Monterey Park, California, on Jan. 21, followed by another incident just days later in Half Moon Bay, California.
