Two Grosse Pointe public school graduates among victims of MSU shooting

EAST LANSING — A mass shooting the night of Feb. 13 on the Michigan State University campus in East Lansing has tragically claimed the lives of two recent graduates of the Grosse Pointe Public School System.

Brian Fraser, 20, of Grosse Pointe Park — a graduate of Grosse Pointe South High School’s Class of 2021 — and Arielle Anderson, 19, of Harper Woods — a graduate of Grosse Pointe North High School’s Class of 2021 — were among the three students fatally wounded by the shooter.

Both high schools had a moment of silence Feb. 14 in honor of their fallen alumni.

Alexandria Verner, 20, of Clawson, also died in the incident.

GPPSS Superintendent Jon Dean reached out to parents by email Feb. 14 and on the district’s website upon learning that two of the victims were from the district.

“As a proud Spartan parent (my daughter graduated from MSU last winter), my heart broke last night when I learned of the shooting at MSU,” Dean wrote. “Unfortunately, I am writing to you today to share that this tragedy is impacting GPPSS even more closely. Earlier this morning, I learned that both Grosse Pointe North and South each have a recent graduate that died from their injuries last night at MSU. I can’t even process what I just wrote. How can we have our community impacted in this personal way?”

Dean held a press conference the afternoon of Feb. 14 at the Barnes Early Childhood Center in Grosse Pointe Woods. He said word of the shooting, and that two of the victims had ties to the district, began spreading among students before school had even started for the day. Once school officials learned of the connection to the district and confirmed the identities of the victims, Dean said they followed the district’s crisis protocol and established rooms in each of the high schools where students who wanted to speak with a counselor could do so.

“It really became real to me when I was heading to my crisis team meeting (at South) and I saw a young lady walking the other way down the hallway, crying,” Dean said.

Just one district student dying in this incident would have been devastating, but the fact that the community lost two of its promising young people makes it an even harder blow.

“It was a moment of disbelief,” Dean said of learning that a North graduate had also been killed, after earlier learning of the South victim. “I had a parent say to me, ‘Jon, this has to be wrong.’ I wish it was wrong.”

At press time, classes in the district were continuing as usual. Dean said any students who needed to stay home were allowed to do so, but most of the students felt more comfortable continuing their normal school routine. The schools weren’t planning any memorial services at press time; Dean said community partners were planning events of this nature outside of regular school hours.

“It’s really important that you give the kids what they need. … The best thing for most of our kids is to keep school, school,” Dean said.

Dean said students in the elementary and middle schools were not being told about the shooting, but the news had been shared with the high schoolers. He said the district was “prepared to support them with our mental health teams” as they dealt with the news.

In partnership with local therapists, drop-in grief counseling was organized by The Family Center of Grosse Pointe and Harper Woods Feb. 14 and 15.

“Our deepest condolences are with the families and friends of the victims of the Michigan State tragedy,” Family Center Executive Director Jennifer Bingaman said in a statement.

The close-knit community is rallying around parents and students reeling from this horrific loss.

“I have felt an intense amount of support in our community,” Dean said.

State Sen. Kevin Hertel, state Rep. Joe Tate and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have all reached out to GPPSS to offer help and support, Dean said.

Grosse Pointe Farms Mayor Louis Theros issued a statement Feb. 14 in the wake of the shooting. It reads, in part: “It is with heavy heart that we are again confronted with another senseless tragedy, this time at Michigan State University. Two of the young lives lost are graduates of Grosse Pointe North and South. The collective love and support of our community is needed more than ever for their families and others impacted by this heinous act. … Today, we are all Spartans. We are united in helping our community heal from this heartbreaking loss of life.”

Harper Woods Mayor Valerie Kindle also released a statement.

“It is with a very heavy heart that we acknowledge that we have lost one of our own in the senseless tragedy at Michigan State University,” Kindle’s statement reads, in part. “Arielle Diamond Anderson was a shining star of her family and of Harper Woods. She was a graduate of Grosse Pointe North High School, a junior at MSU and aspiring to become a surgeon. I ask that we as a community hold this family up in prayer as we try to make sense of such a senseless and unspeakable crime.”

Grosse Pointe Park Mayor Michele Hodges — whose own daughters were at MSU the night of the shooting — issued a statement as well.

“To the Grosse Pointe Communities and residents of Grosse Pointe Park, please join me in extending a deep and penetrating love to the Fraser and Anderson families, for they are so very dear to this community,” Hodges wrote, in part. “Life is precious, especially the lives of our children, and especially the beloved children of our very own community. Also precious are the bonds that unite us, that equip us to help the people we love most when horrific tragedy strikes. To that end, we must embrace the Fraser and Anderson families with hope and love. We must give them the promise that the legacy of Brian and Arielle, and the goodness they represent, will endure in our hearts. To the families of those students at Michigan State, we mourn with you this tragic event.”

At press time, five MSU students injured in the shooting remained hospitalized.

Dean said he was a teacher when the Columbine High School shooting occurred in Colorado in 1999. Since then, there have been 366 school shootings, according to the Washington Post, which has been tracking this data.

“I took this pause and thought, how is this possible that this happened in the first place — this senseless act of violence,” Dean said of the MSU shooting. “We have to figure out how we can supplement the mental health of our kids and the mental health of our adults … so there isn’t another superintendent giving a press conference (like this).”

The National Disaster Distress Helpline was inviting anyone impacted by the MSU shooting and in need of immediate counseling to call (800) 985-5990.