Painful farewells to two victims of MSU shooting

Grieving family members and devastated friends said final farewells Saturday to two of the three students shot and killed in this month’s bloody rampage at Michigan State University.

In the Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe Farms, dozens of mourners packed into St. Paul on the Lake Catholic Church to honor and remember Brian Fraser.

The slain sophomore was president of the Michigan Beta Chapter of Phi Delta Theta at Michigan State and a graduate of Grosse Pointe South High School, where he competed in swimming and diving.

The Rev. Jim Bilot, who conducted the funeral Mass, recalled Fraser’s love of sports, saying he always enjoyed being part of a team and “always contributed to making it a good sporting event,” according to The Detroit News.

The funeral for shooting victim Alexandria Verner was held at the Guardian Angels Catholic Church in Clawson, a suburb north of Detroit. Verner was studying integrated biology and anthropology at Michigan State, according to her LinkedIn page.

A vigil was held Saturday for the third student killed, Arielle Anderson. Her funeral is scheduled for this week. Anderson’s family said in a statement that she was pushing to graduate early and hoped to become a surgeon.

Another five students were wounded in the mass shooting at Michigan State on Monday night. Four remained in critical condition at a hospital in Lansing, Mich.

They have not been identified.

Police said 43-year-old Anthony McRae burst into a classroom in Berkley Hall on the Michigan State campus Monday and opened fire on students learning about Cuban literature; he then walked a short distance and started shooting in the nearby student union before fleeing campus.

Police confronted McRae about five miles away in an industrial area where he killed himself, Michigan State Police said.

Detectives later recovered two handguns, ammunition and a note containing a possible motive for the attack. Police said McRae seemingly felt slighted in some way, but noted they are still investigating.

McRae was not an employee or student at the school. Police have said he was not affiliated with Michigan State in any capacity.

AP From left, Brian Fraser’s father, Sean, mother, Mary ‘Mia’ and sister, Micaela, are joined by dozens of friends, relatives and well-wishers at funeral for Fraser in Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., on Saturday.