Map: 911 dispatchers received 2,100 calls on night of Michigan State University mass shooting

Ingham County 911 dispatchers received 2,100 phone calls in 5 hours

Ingham County dispatcher.

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Thousands of calls were made to Ingham County 911 dispatchers on the night of the Michigan State University mass shooting.

Three Michigan State University students were killed and five others were injured when a 43-year-old gunman opened fire in two on-campus buildings on Feb. 13.

The first call reporting shots fired on campus came in at 8:18 p.m. on Feb. 13. Hundreds of police officers from across the state responded to the scene to help with a manhunt that lasted more than three hours.

During that time dispatchers were fielding calls from students, staff and community members on and near campus. There were numerous reports of shots fired, reports of people screaming, and people reporting seeing the gunman.

The only locations with confirmed shootings are Berkey Hall and the MSU Union building. Police provided a clearer timeline that shows the gunman was off campus in less than 10 minutes after opening fire at Berkey Hall.

  • 8:18 p.m.: First calls to 911 reporting shots fired
  • 8:24 p.m.: Shooter enters MSU Union buliding
  • 8:26 p.m.: Shooter exits the MSU Union building and leaves campus

The route the shooter took once he left campus is still being reviewed by investigators. Dispatchers received a call from a witness who saw someone matching the description of the shooter at 11:35 p.m. Officers located the shooter at 11:49 p.m. The shooter killed himself when officers approached.

View: Updated timeline of Michigan State University shootings, search for suspect

The calls about the MSU shooting did not stop coming until 1 a.m. on Feb. 14. That is nearly five hours. During that time period, dispatchers received 2,100 phone calls, with 1,450 being 911 calls.

Police said that is the equivalent of 2.5 days’ worth of calls for the dispatch center. There were 3,136 radio “push to talks” by police officers on the primary shared radio dispatch talk group used by MSU Police and Public Safety and the East Lansing Police Department.

A “push to talk” is every time an officer or dispatcher pushes the button to transmit on their two-way radio.

Read: 911 dispatcher working night of Michigan State University mass shooting: ‘I was doing my job’

View the map of 911 calls

The campus map below was provided by MSU police. It shows each individual 911 call categorized by the hour in which residents made calls to dispatch.

Campus map with each individual 911 call categorized by the hour in which residents made calls to dispatch. (Michigan State University Police Department)

Michigan State University campus resources

There are several on-campus resources for students and staff available at this time.

“It’s important to remember that the grief some individuals may be experiencing is normal and there are several ways in which individuals can seek support, including talking with friends, family and colleagues to process,” Michigan State University police said.

  • MSU Student Health Services
    • General info: 517-884-6526
    • Nurse on-call: 517-353-9165
  • MSU Employee Assistance Program: EAP is a confidential, free counseling service for employees
  • Counseling and Psychiatry Services: CAPS is the place for students seeking help for a wide range of health concerns.
    • Website: caps.msu.edu
    • Crisis line: Call (517) 355-8270 and press “1″ at the prompt
  • MSU Department of Psychiatry
    • Psychiatry Clinic phone number: 517-353-3070

About the Author:

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.