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Michigan State students recount hiding wherever they can during active shooter

Posted at 5:29 AM, Feb 14, 2023
and last updated 2023-02-15 15:08:46-05

(WXYZ) — Heartbreaking images of students barricading themselves in classrooms, bathrooms, or any space they could find, came in on Monday night as an active shooter was on the loose.

The shooting started around 8:18 p.m. Monday, and three people were killed and five injured across two crime scenes.

The suspected shooter was found early Tuesday morning and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound as police approached.

RELATED: Live coverage of the mass shooting at Michigan State University

Good Morning America talked to a Michigan State University student who says he heard the gunman shoot inside his classroom at least 4 times. He says two students in the class were injured during the shooting.

Michigan State students recalls moment gunman shot in his classroom hitting students

One student our Alicia Smith spoke with, a freshman from Windsor, Ontario, was alone in an off-campus apartment.

Jack Tell said he barricaded three separate doors with dressers and chairs, grabbed a hockey stick, and hid in a bathroom closet for three hours.

"Being a part of an active shooter situation. It's not a drill. Was this something that you ever, ever expected to have to go through?" I asked.

"I mean, obviously, when you see stuff like the Oxford shooting and just you think about it sometimes once in a while it crosses your mind, but you never really prepare and think that that's something that's going to happen to you while you're at school. So, it was definitely crazy and unexpected for sure," he said.

Dell said he is still kind of in shock, but he was able to call his parents to let them know he was OK.

Our Keenan Smith is live Tuesday morning from East Lansing. He caught up with a father who drove hours from Illinois to East Lansing on Monday night to see his daughter, after he heard about the mass shooting.

He said he drove 5 1/2 hours from Champaign, Illinois as fast as he could, while checking in with her often.

Father drives hours to Michigan State campus, reunited with daughter after mass shooting