USA
“Run, hide, fight”: At least three dead after shooting at university
Rescue workers unload a stretcher from an ambulance after a shot was fired on the Michigan State University campus in the United States
© Nick King / DPA
“Run, hide, fight” is what the University of Michigan is advising students to do after fatal shootings on campus. The alleged perpetrator is eventually found dead.
At least three people have died in a shooting at a Michigan university. Five other people were taken to the hospital with serious injuries, the police said at a press conference early Tuesday morning (local time). Her condition is critical.
The alleged perpetrator was found dead with a “self-inflicted gunshot wound” outside the university campus, it said. It is a 43-year-old man who, according to initial knowledge, is not connected to the university. Police believe he acted alone. There is no longer any danger to the public.
USA: fatal shooting at university in Michigan
The first emergency calls were received by the police on Monday evening at 8:18 p.m., it said. A gunman opened fire in a hall at the University of Michigan in the city of East Lansing – about 125 kilometers northwest of Detroit – and shot dead two people. Another dead body was found about 400 meters away in the student union rooms. Both buildings were open to the public.
The police initially gave no information about the identity of the dead and injured. “Behind each of the victims is a family,” said Chris Rozman of the university police. A motive for the alleged perpetrator is also not yet known.
Due to the size of the campus, which, according to the university’s website, covers more than 21 square kilometers, the police operation was a “monumental task”. Hundreds of security forces were deployed and several buildings were evacuated, the police said.
Uni advises: “Run, hide, fight”
“Run, hide, fight,” said the university in an initial warning to students and employees. If possible, one should move away from the danger, otherwise entrench. If both are not possible, one should defend oneself. After the suspected shooter died, the warning was lifted and all courses and events on Tuesday and Wednesday were canceled. According to the university’s website, more than 50,000 people study there.
In the United States, another massacre in an educational institution is celebrated on Tuesday. On February 14, 2018, a then 19-year-old shot dead 14 teenagers and three adults and injured others at a school in Parkland, Florida, with a legally purchased semi-automatic rifle. After the crime, surviving students had started protests against gun violence and for stricter gun laws in the USA, which became a nationwide movement. However, guns remain readily available in the United States, and school and university shootings are common.
Watch video: Gunman kills at least three people on Michigan college campus