After MSU’s mass shooting, professors and politicians assess how to move forward

It’s been four days since the shooting at Michigan State University. That’s four days since five students were injured and three were killed.

In that time, we’ve learned that the shooter, who shot and killed himself, felt “slighted” and allegedly had plans to shoot more people at other locations. We’ve learned that one of the injured people he shot is now in stable condition, and we’ve learned that this was not the first time many students experienced an active shooter situation — at least one of them an Oxford High School graduate.

Vigils at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan have drawn scores of students to create space to mourn and grieve, and to express fear and uncertainty. On Wednesday, MSU students held a rally at the state capitol demanding action on gun control, and politicians have begun responding by pushing along gun control legislation.

Detroit Today spoke with one of the MSU professors who witnessed the shooting, a journalist covering Lansing and a professor of Firearm Injury Prevention to assess how we move forward from this tragedy.

“There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to go back there ever, [but] there’s a part of me that actually feels a great need to see my students, a strong need to see them alive.” — Marco Díaz-Muñoz, MSU professor

Listen: How students, faculty and politicians are reacting to MSU’s recent campus shooting.

Guests

Marco Díaz-Muñoz is an assistant professor at Michigan State University. He was teaching when the gunman entered his room. He says he wants to help his students through the mass shooting that took place Monday.

“There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to go back there ever, [but] there’s a part of me that actually feels a great need to see my students, a strong need to see them alive,” says Díaz-Muñoz.

Zach Gorchow is the publisher and executive editor of the Gongwer News Service in Lansing. He says most Democrats will likely support the gun control legislation being proposed in the state Senate.

“There’s nobody, as you look down the roster on paper, who seems like they’re going to be an obstacle to the legislation. As for the Republicans, we’ll see,” says Gorchow.

Dr. Patrick Carter is an associate professor of Emergency Medicine and co-director of the University of Michigan Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention. He says there are holistic solutions that need to be taken in order to prevent gun-related deaths and injuries.

“Policies are one part of a larger solution, and an important part, but not the only part,” says Carter.