East Lansing, Michigan: Five Wounded in Two Halloween Night Shootings Near Michigan State

Five people were wounded in two shootings in East Lansing on Halloween night, Police Chief Jennifer Brown said at a press conference on Sunday afternoon. Four of the victims were in stable condition and the condition of the fifth was unknown, Brown said. No one was killed.

"There's no known threat to the community at this time," Brown said. "The victims and their families are in our thoughts and prayers. We are aware that this situation was extremely frightening for bystanders, Michigan State University students as well as their families."

Brown spoke for less than five minutes and took no questions. She walked through four incidents in order, and said each crime scene was still being worked when the next incident began.

The two shootings

Shortly after midnight, at about 12:26 a.m., officers were sent to M.A.C. Avenue and Linden Street, a few blocks from the Michigan State campus, where they found three people with gunshot wounds. Two were in stable condition, and Brown said she did not have the condition of the third victim.

The second shooting happened in the early morning hours near Frye and Stoddard avenues. Two people were taken to a local hospital and both were in stable condition. Officers recovered multiple guns at the scene, and Brown said it had not yet been determined whether those guns were the ones used in the shooting.

Brown said several people were arrested during the night, but those arrests included people involved in two drunken driving crashes in which pedestrians were hit.

Two pedestrians hit and a stretched fire department

Before midnight, a vehicle struck a pedestrian near Abbot Road and Library Lane. Police arrested a driver for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. The pedestrian was first listed in critical condition and was in stable condition after surgery on Sunday, Brown said.

Later, officers were sent to Grand River Avenue and Gunson Street for a second pedestrian crash. Police arrested a driver on suspicion of drunken driving and recovered a firearm from that driver's vehicle. The pedestrian who was struck was in stable condition.

East Lansing firefighters responded to 75 calls overnight, and fire departments from Lansing and other nearby communities came in to help. Brown called it one of the busiest nights the city has had.

Michigan State responds

The shootings happened off campus. Michigan State spokesperson Amber McCann said the university police department helped East Lansing police respond, and that the shootings did not involve a threat to the campus.

University President Kevin Guskiewicz wrote on social media that the incidents were "deeply concerning," and he also cited inappropriate behavior at the SAE fraternity. It was not clear what happened at the fraternity or whether it was related to the incidents Brown described. Guskiewicz said the safety of students, faculty and staff remains the priority, and that the university would share more information with the campus community later on Sunday.

Brown was joined at the press conference, held at 3 p.m., by Fire Chief John Newman, Michigan State Police First Lt. Jay Barkley, Mayor Erik Altmann and Councilman Steve Whelan. None of them spoke. Police have not released the names of the victims, and the investigations into both shootings are continuing.