The victims: aspiring doctor, fraternity head, ‘quiet leader’

They all went to high school in the Detroit suburbs: a 19year-old who planned to become the first doctor in her family, a “quiet leader” who modeled poise and humility, and the chapter president of his fraternity.

All three were killed on the Michigan State University campus Monday night, when gunfire rang out in a classroom building and the student union. Five more students were wounded by the gunman, who later killed himself, authorities said.

The Michigan State police said Tuesday that Alexandria Verner, 20, a junior from Clawson, and Brian Fraser, 20, a sophomore from Grosse Pointe, were killed in the shooting. At a news conference later in the day, the school district in Grosse Pointe identified Arielle Diamond Anderson, 19, of Harper Woods, as the third fatal victim. Anderson graduated from Grosse Pointe North High School, Fraser from Grosse Pointe South High.

Anderson was studying to become a doctor because she wanted to help others, her grandfather, Dwayne Thomas, said in a telephone interview. “She was a living angel,” he said.

She loved to roller skate and enjoyed attending Michigan State basketball games, Thomas said. Whenever she went to a game, he said, she would call him as he watched on television from his home in Florida. “Just to lose her like this is just a tragedy,” he said.

Fraser was president of the Michigan State chapter of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, the organization said in a statement Tuesday. “As the leader of his chapter, Brian was a great friend to his Phi Delt brothers, the Greek community at Michigan State, and those he interacted with on campus,” the statement said. Members of his family could not immediately be reached.

Verner went to Clawson High School, about half an hour away from Grosse Pointe. Billy Shellenbarger, the superintendent of Clawson Public Schools, characterized her as “a quiet leader” and a “phenomenal student.” He said in an interview he had known Verner, who went by Al or Alex, since she was in kindergarten. Her mother is a teacher, he said, and her father sits on the school board.

“The family itself,” Shellenbarger said, “they’re cut from a special cloth in terms of character and kindness.”

Verner was a role model for players on the girls’ basketball team in high school, the superintendent said, and many students who are still at Clawson High knew her well. She chose to attend Michigan State — her dream school, Shellenbarger said — to study forensics.

“She changed the game if you were friends with her, if you knew her,” he said. “She made you better.” In a brief telephone interview, Verner’s father, Ted Verner, said their family has been “overrun with love and support.” In addition to the three who were killed, five students were hospitalized with their injuries. Their names have not been released.