EAST LANSING (WWJ) -- It’s another emotional day at Michigan State University as the community continues to grapple with the mass shooting that took the lives of three students and critically injured five others on Monday night.
Several students returned to campus on Wednesday afternoon to collect personal items that were left behind at the MSU Union as they fled from gunfire.
Members of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office were on-site at 1:30 p.m. to escort students and their families into the Union building, and special agent in charge Jim Tarasca says there were close to 100 students who left their belongings behind in the chaos.
WWJ's Jon Hewett spoke to some of the students who were present at the Union at the time of the shooting, including sophomore Enzo Sugameli, who was eating in the building’s cafeteria when he heard the first shot ring out.
“At the time, I thought someone just dropped something really loud, or a pipe burst,” Sugameli told Hewett. “And so everybody stopped, it got really quiet and there was about a four-second break before two more gunshots went off, and that’s when a full panic ensued.”
Sugameli says students then started screaming and running for the doors as pandemonium broke loose.
“I immediately ran out of the north entrance and I gunned it west, and I was able to meet up with some of the people I know, and we just ran west afterwards,” he explained.
Sugameli left his bag and his coat behind in the Union, and thought he also left his phone, though he hasn’t been able to recover it.
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When it came to reentering the Union on Wednesday, Sugameli told Jon Hewett that it wasn’t as difficult as he anticipated, and he was glad to be able to reunite with some fellow students who he hadn’t seen since the shooting.
Still, Sugameli is concerned about retrieving his phone, as he knows there are a lot of friends and loved ones trying to reach him in the aftermath of Monday’s tragic events.
“I’ve been able to get in contact with my parents and some close family members, but I know there’s other people who don’t have that contact with me,” he said.
Michigan State freshman Connor Dunn echoed much of what Sugameli recalled from Monday night, also believing the first gunshot to be someone dropping a food tray.
He told Jon Hewett that he found it hard going back into the Union today, but that he feels a great deal of support from the MSU faculty and community.
“I knew going in that it would be difficult… [but] there’s a lot of people in there for support for whatever we need,” Dunn said. “I’m glad to say that Michigan State is here to help us get through this and I really hope that we can all move past this together.”
Meanwhile, those who left belongings behind in Berkey Hall can pick up their items beginning on Thursday at 10 a.m., when FBI employees and victim specialists will once again be on site to provide assistance, as well as mental health support.
Members of the Spartan community will also gather on campus this evening at a candlelight vigil in honor of the victims of Monday's shooting.
The ceremony will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. at the gathering place known as 'The Rock,' where students have been leaving flowers and other tributes throughout the week.
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