According to police, the gunman who killed three people at Michigan State University might have planned to attack two other schools.

Anthony McRae (43), died after he opened fire on East Lansing students on Monday night.

Five other people were also taken into hospital, some in life-threatening conditions. The campus had to be locked down for hours as police searched for him.

Mc Rae’s motivation and links to MSU are still not known. However, Mc Rae had a history mental illness and his neighbor described him as a “hellraiser” who would fire at his home with his gun.

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More than 800 miles away from Ewing, New Jersey police said that a note found in the suspect’s pocket “indicated a danger” to two schools.

They did not provide further details, but stated on Facebook that McRae had not lived there in several years.

At the time, he was in Lansing with his father.

Michael McRae claimed that his son bought a gun even though he was convicted in 2019 for not having the permit. This would have prevented him from purchasing another gun.

Michael McRae said that he told McRae to dispose of the gun. “He kept lying about it and said he had gotten rid of it.

“He would go out to shoot and I would see casings lying on the ground and he would say, “Oh, that’s Dad, it’s not me.”

According to him, his son was struggling since 2020 when his mother died. He would stay in his room for hours without taking care of himself and wouldn’t leave.

McRae began his attack on Monday night by shooting people at an academic building, then attacking other MSU members nearby.

Students reported running for their lives, jumping from windows and escaping as others blocked off rooms.

After being recognized from CCTV images, someone called police and reported the gunman to them, he was located several hours later, about five miles away.

Although he shot himself to death, it is not clear if he was still alive when officers arrived.

Fraternity president and aspiring surgeon among victims

Tributes were paid to three of the victims: Arielle Anderson, Brian Fraser, and Alexandria Vernier.

Ms. Vernier was a student of integrated biology and anthropology. Her school superintendent described her as a “tremendous athlete, student, leader [who] exuded kindness every day”

Brian Fraser was the president of MSU’s Delta Theta fraternity.

It released a statement saying that Brian was our leader and that we loved him.

“He was deeply concerned about his Phi Delt brothers and his family, Michigan State University and Phi Delta Theta.

“We will miss Brian deeply and support each other through this difficult time,”

Arielle Anderson’s family stated that she hoped to graduate from MSU early so she can become a surgeon as soon possible.

They stated that she had an infectious smile and they loved her.