The gunman who police said killed three students and injured five others on Michigan State University’s campus Monday night turned “evil and mean” and became a recluse after his mother’s death two years ago, his father said Tuesday in an interview.
Anthony McRae, 43, had a difficult time handling the loss of his mother, Linda McRae, and his demeanor and outlook on life “changed” after she died of a stroke on Sept. 13, 2020, according to his father, Michael McRae.
“He was a mama’s boy. He loved his mom. They were tight. His mom was like his sister,” Michael McRae said.
After her passing, the younger McRae quit his job at a warehouse and stayed in his room all day, his father said.
“He was grieving his mom. He wouldn’t let it go. He got bitter, bitter and bitter,” Michael McRae said. “His mom died, and he just started getting evil and mean. He didn’t care about anything anymore.”
Police identified Anthony McRae as the suspected shooter in a news conference Tuesday morning.
He opened fire at MSU before leading authorities on a manhunt that ended when he fatally shot himself after a confrontation with law enforcement officials in the adjacent city of Lansing, police said.
Authorities said the shooter’s motive is unknown.
“We have no idea why he came to campus to do this tonight,” Chris Rozman, interim deputy chief of the Michigan State University Police, said.
Michael McRae said he did not know why his son targeted the school but believed he may have been trying to apply for a job there.
In 2019, Anthony McRae pleaded guilty and was convicted in Ingham County of possessing a loaded firearm and sentenced to prison. He was released in May 2021.
His father said he told his son, “We don’t need no guns in this house.” His son promised to get rid of it but never let his father into his room in the home they shared.
“I said, ‘I hope you got rid of that gun, man.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I got rid of it. I got rid it,'” Michael McRae said. “He didn’t.”
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