Michigan State professor plans to return after deadly shooting in his classroom: ‘I need to help my students’

A Michigan State University professor whose classroom was attacked in last week’s mass shooting, killing two of his students, says he plans to return to teaching this week.

Classes resume on the East Lansing, Mich., campus Monday, exactly a week after a gunman fatally shot three students and wounded five others.

“On one hand, I want to forget it all,” professor Marco Díaz-Muñoz told the Associated Press. “But then on the other hand, I think I need to help my students pick up the pieces. I think I need to help my students build a sense of meaning.”

Díaz-Muñoz says he was giving a lesson in Room 114 at the university’s Berkey Hall when he heard loud noises outside. The gunman, identified by police as Anthony McRae, then shot into his classroom for a minute or two before leaving, the professor said.

Some students escaped through a window, but two victims in the class — Arielle Anderson, 19, and Alexandria Verner, 20 — died from gunshot wounds, officials said.

“Those images haunt me,” Díaz-Muñoz said. “The images of those two girls.”

Díaz-Muñoz hasn’t made a final decision but expects to decline the university’s offer to have another professor replace him through the end of the semester. Berkey Hall will remain closed through the spring, the university said.

McRae also opened fire at the university’s MSU Union building, according to authorities, who identified Brian Fraser as the other victim killed. A funeral for Fraser took place Saturday in Grosse Pointe Farms, a suburb of Detroit. A funeral for Verner also took place Saturday in nearby Clawson.

[ Funerals held for students killed in Michigan State University mass shooting ]

Some in the East Lansing community, including the editorial board of the MSU student newspaper, The State News, argue it’s too early for students to resume classes.

“We need at least another week of healing,” the editorial board wrote in an article headlined, “We’re not going to class Monday.”

Four of the wounded victims remained in critical condition Saturday, according to Sparrow Hospital, where they are being treated. The other victim was upgraded to stable condition last week.

Officials say McRae, who wasn’t an MSU student or employee, killed himself about 4 miles from the campus following a police manhunt. He was carrying a note indicating a possible motive, which police haven’t released, authorities said Thursday.

“It appears based on the content of the note that he felt he was slighted in some way by people or businesses,” campus police Deputy Chief Chris Rozman said. “Did a mental health issue amplify that, or was it a component of that? We’re not sure at this point.”

With News Wire Services