A Columbus, Michigan State student’s father says his daughter was on campus at the time of the shooting

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Columbus father whose daughter is studying Michigan State University said it was a “nervous” night after a shooter killed three students and wounded five others in East Lansing on Monday.

“My wife, Lisa, got a text message from Michigan State around 8:30 p.m. that said, shelter in place, everyone on campus, run, hide, fight. I immediately thought we had to grab Liz,” said Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch beat writer for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

His daughter is a freshman at Michigan State and was on campus Monday night when the shots rang out.

“She said it was at Berkey Hall. She said, “I was there less than an hour ago,” Hedger said.

Liz went to her room, locked the door and went to contact the university.

Ohio State students followed suit, which reminded some of the 2016 knife attack.

“Awful, absolutely awful. I was with a group of friends last night and one of their parents texted them and said, look at the news, what’s going on?’ Ohio State sophomore Emma Berry said.

The shooter went through two buildings on campus that are open to the public, including the student union.

“It is very difficult to protect public places. What happened in Michigan could happen anywhere,” said Monica Moll, director of public safety for the state of Ohio.

Moll said she has a heart for Michigan State and says it reminds her of the 2016 attack at Ohio State.

“We have to focus on what we can control, which is that our first responders get to the scene immediately and our community knows what to do while we wait for law enforcement to respond,” Moll said.

Ohio State has since made changes, adding locks to each door as an extra layer of protection.

Hedger said he was relieved his daughter was safe.

“I was really proud of the way she responded. She was calm through it all, probably calmer than Mom and Dad four hours later. We went a little crazy,” Hedger said.

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