Father of MSU shooting suspect Anthony McRae said he tried to help son
Days after a deadly mass shooting on Michigan State University's campus, the father of the man police say gunned down students, killing three, is struggling to understand his son's actions.
After his mother died, Anthony McRae “got a little bitter” and was acting differently, his father, Michael McRae said. He said he tried to encourage his son to get a job, hang out with him, “get out the room and get some air.”
He said he would ask his son if he needed help, but he would say he didn’t need any.
“You do the best you can to raise kids. You do your job as a good dad, good mom. And you do all you can for them and you love them, but when they leave the house and leave out that door, you don’t know what they’re thinking about, what they’re going to do," Michael McRae said. "Nobody can get in nobody’s brain but Jesus.”
Anthony McRae, 43, is accused of fatally shooting three students and wounding five others on Monday before shooting himself hours later after being confronted by police on a road in Lansing miles from campus.
Police said earlier this week that they didn’t have a clear motive for the mass shooting. But they said a two-page note they found on McRae threatening people and businesses indicated that he felt “slighted.”
MSU students Arielle Anderson, 19, of Harper Woods; Brian Fraser, 20, of Grosse Pointe, and Alexandria Verner, 20, of Clawson were killed in the shooting and five others were injured.
More: MSU shooting suspect citing Meijer distribution center in note shocks union leader
More: Brother of Michigan State University shooting suspect Anthony McRae: He 'secluded himself'
Authorities are investigating whether McRae suffered from mental illness and whether it was a factor in his actions.
Law enforcement in New Jersey, where McRae previously lived, indicated he had a “history of mental health issues,” although they did not release any details. Police have said McRae threatened schools in Ewing, New Jersey, in his note.
And his brother told the Free Press on Tuesday that McRae “secluded himself” and called him a “loner.”
“In hindsight, judging what mental illness somebody has is very difficult without some type of formal diagnosis,” Michigan State University Interim Deputy Police Chief Chris Rozman said on Thursday. “Obviously, in this case, there appears to be indications that that may be the case. It’s going to be difficult to confirm that but I think that’s a question we have as well.”
Asked whether his son had sought help for mental health issues, Michael McRae said his son wasn't "crazy." He said his son was raised in church and knew "right from wrong." Michael McRae said he didn't know what happened "to make him do what he did," saying he didn't know what was going on in his son's mind.
Michael McRae described his son as “changing and changing” and said he did everything he could as a dad to help.
"How do we know what's on a kid's mind when they don't tell you?" he said. "And all you can do is try to do is love them, take care of them."
Contact Gina Kaufman: gkaufman@freepress.com Follow her on Twitter: @ReporterGina. Contact Christine MacDonald: cmacdonald@freepress.com or 313-418-2149. Follow her on Twitter: @cmacfreep.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Father of MSU shooting suspect said he tried to help son
