EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — A suspect is now in custody after Michigan State University sent out an alert Wednesday afternoon that a person was seen with a knife on or near campus.
MSU Police said a suspect was found in downtown East Lansing by East Lansing Police and there is no longer a threat to campus or a need to shelter-in-place.
6 News was in downtown East Lansing and saw police follow a man into the Rally House store. The officers then gathered by the front entrance of the store.
A man was eventually put into handcuffs and taken into an alley behind behind the store. Police then searched the man and carefully handled some objects that he appeared to have on him.
Now, we know more about what led to this situation because MSU Police Chief Chris Rozman gave an update on the incident Wednesday afternoon.
Rozman said the incident started with an altercation involving a person and some employees at a business in downtown East Lansing. The man was seen with a knife, and then left the business, crossed Grand River Avenue, and was seen on MSU’s campus.
“On the heels of the violence that we experienced last month, we know that this incident may have been impactful for many and the alerts that we sent may have evoked a range of emotions and we validate and acknowledge that. Officers did locate the suspect at another business in Downtown East Lansing and they did safely take him into custody and no one was injured,” MSU Police Chief Chris Rozman said.
The school decided to err on the side of caution and alert the students, Rozman said.
A short time later, officers found the suspect at another business and they were taken into custody, Rozman said.
Originally, police said a man was reportedly seen in downtown East Lansing with a knife. Officials said he then walked across Grand River and was seen on campus near Ramp 6.
MSU Police said the person with the knife was described by witnesses as a tall light skinned male, in his 30’s, wearing a grayish colored hoodie, with a black mask, black pants and a beige coat, which matches the description of the man 6 News saw police take into custody.
