Accused Michigan Shooter Threatened 2 NJ Schools, Prompting Closure

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — The man accused of shooting and killing three people Monday night at Michigan State University had deep ties to New Jersey, including a possible threat to a local school district.

Anthony McRae, who authorities say died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, used to live in Trenton, according to his Facebook page and other online records.

When police found McRae’s body, they discovered a note in his pocket indicating a threat to two public schools in Ewing, Mercer County. But there's no longer a threat to the district, and the institutions will resume a normal class schedule Wednesday, the township's police department said in a news release.

The 43-year-old, who also critically injured five people Monday, had ties to Ewing but hadn't lived in the area for several years, police said.

McRae last lived in Lansing, Michigan, according to authorities in the state. But he hails from Trenton, according to his now-locked Facebook profile.

Related coverage:

• Michigan State Shooting: Gunman Dead, 3 Killed, 5 Injured
• Michigan Gunman Had Note Indicating Threat To Mercer School: Police
• MSU Shooting Victims Were University Students; Gunman Identified

It wasn't immediately clear when or for how long McRae lived in New Jersey. Property records show McRae living in Bear, Delaware, from 2000-16 and Lansing since 2010.

His parents married in Trenton. McRae's mother, Linda, who died in September 2020, was born in New Jersey's capital and moved to Lansing in 2003, according to her obituary.

Linda McRae "gave her life to Christ at an early age" and enjoyed "worshipping and talking about the Lord, working in the church, cooking, caring for others," her obituary states. "She especially enjoyed spending time with family."

She previously worked for the General Motors plant in Trenton.

Anthony McRae had a misdemeanor conviction for possessing a loaded firearm in a vehicle in 2019. He spent a year-and-a-half on probation, which ended in spring 2021. McRae also sustained two misdemeanors in 2006 for driving with a suspended license.

McRae killed five people and left five critically injured Monday night — all Michigan State students, according to the university's deputy police chief. Officials didn't name any of the victims as of Tuesday morning.

After the shooting, police say they found McRae dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a Lansing home a few miles away from the university's campus. He didn't have any affiliations with the university as a student or employee, officials said.

Police were still working to determine McRae's motive as of Tuesday morning.

The Michigan State incident marks at least the second time in the past year in which an accused mass shooter had New Jersey ties. Michael Louis — who killed four people and then himself at a Tulsa, Oklahoma, hospital on June 1 — previously lived in the Garden State, according to New Jersey Advance Media. Louis left New Jersey in 2013, his brother told the media outlet.