Michigan State University said Berkey Hall will remain closed through the end of the year, but the student union will partially reopen on April 3.
Both Berkey and the Student Union were locations of the deadly mass shooting on Feb. 13 that killed three students and injured five others.
According to university leadership, Berkey Hall will remain closed for classes and events for this semester, the summer semester and the fall 2023 semester as the university determines its next steps.
The MSU student union will have a partial reopening as leaders said it's an important resource for students and the community, but the food court will remain closed for now
"As you decide when the time is right to revisit the MSU Union, we want to give you an idea of what to expect when we welcome you back. The lounges on the first floor will be open along with the Sparty’s mini-market store and the computer labs. There will also be therapy dogs in the building to welcome you. EAP will be present to support employees as well as CAPS to support students," the letter said.
Earlier this month, the university also announced security changes to the campus following the shooting.
Most buildings on campus will require key card access from 6 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. the next day. The school will also equip 1,300 classrooms with locks and there will be additional security cameras on campus including in academic buildings.
MSU police also say they will continue to work on centralizing all of its security systems. On top of that, there will also be required active violence/intruder training for staff and students starting this fall.
MSU leaders say these steps are just the beginning and as these changes are announced, students are still trying to settle back into a routine on campus.
It's kind of hard to think about it in a new light because before this incident I never even checked to think how many cameras are in a classroom building," Arielle Gearring said.
Timeline of the shooting
On March 10, the Michigan State University Department of Police and Public Safety released an update about the shooting on the MSU campus last month, detailing a timeline and showing the note the shooter left behind.
According to police, the preliminary findings released a detailed timeline for the shooter's presence on campus during the evening of Feb. 13. The shooter killed himself later that night.
The timeline is below, according to police.
- 8:18 p.m. – First shots fired call at Berkey Hall received by Ingham County 911
- 8:20 p.m. – Officers entered Berkey Hall
- 8:24 p.m. – McRae entered the Union
- 8:26 p.m. – First report of shooting at the Union
- 8:26 p.m. – McRae exited the Union and left campus
- 8:27 p.m. – Officers arrived at the Union
- 8:30 p.m. – First emergency alert notification sent
- 8:31 p.m. – Second emergency alert notification sent
- 11:18 p.m. – Photo of suspect shared on MSU DPPS social media
- 11:35 p.m. – Ingham County 911 receives call of person matching the description walking on Lake Lansing Rd near High St in the City of Lansing
- 11:49 p.m. – Officers approach McRae and he shoots himself
Police said they are still investigating the route once he left campus.
According to police, Ingham County 911 received 2,100 phone calls – 1,450 of which were 911 calls – between 8 p.m. Feb. 13 and 1 a.m. on Feb. 14. Police say that's about 2.5 days' worth of calls to the dispatch center within a five-hour period.
Ingham County 911 Central Dispatch said in a press release that they quickly mobilized over 20 employees, including off-duty workers.
