EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Parents of Michigan State University shooting victims say they are still looking for answers after last month’s deadly attack on campus.
The first shots were fired at 8:15 on Feb. 13, and three Spartans lost their lives.
Families were notified of the students’ deaths more than six hours later.
An article from the Detroit News reported that parents of the three victims were sent to pick up their kids at the MSU Pavilion, which was turned into a safe space.
As the hours passed, the families of the victims were the only ones left waiting.
It wasn’t until 3 a.m. that parents learned their kids weren’t coming home.
“We’re deeply sorry for what our Spartan families experienced that night,” said MSU Deputy Spokesperson Dan Olsen.
Olsen said that the crime lab and medical examiner didn’t enter the classroom until 12:20 a.m., more than four hours after the first round of shots were fired.
After the shooter was found dead, Olsen added that identifying the victims took time.
“The officers that were on scene, as well as the FBI and medical examiner, began processing that scene and identifying the victims,” continued Olsen. “We became aware of those names at around 1:30 in the morning and then worked to start to make those identifications.”
Ingham County Medical Examiner Michelle Fox was able to provide more insight as to what happened on Feb. 13.
“During the Michigan State University shooting, our team couldn’t begin our investigation until the scene was cleared of any ongoing threat. Once we were able to begin our investigation, we followed our procedures to properly identify the three victims, ensuring that notifications to the correct families occurred as soon as possible,” Fox said in a statement.
One of the parent whose child was killed told the Detroit News that the delay that night was “pathetic” and asserted that more could have been done.
Olsen contended that the university is working to strengthen its response to emergencies.
“These are notifications that were happening from a number of partners. From the FBI, to the crime lab, to law enforcement, and other entities,” Olsen said. “The recommendations that we have received are being thoughtfully evaluated by university leadership.”
