MSU shooter Anthony McRae was busted with loaded gun in 2019, deserved jail: uncle
Michigan State University gunman Anthony McRae struggled with “paranoid schizophrenia,” according to his uncle.
“[Anthony had] mental issues, obviously,” Timothy McRae told The Post Wednesday, adding he thought authorities should have dealt with his 43-year-old nephew after a 2019 incident when police caught him with a concealed loaded handgun, leading to a felony charge.
“When they had him in possession of a weapon, they should have given him jail time. Maybe they could have evaluated him then.
“They put him back on the street knowing that he was able to carry a weapon. I mean, how smart is that?”
Former warehouse worker Anthony — who went on to shoot eight students in two MSU buildings on Monday before apparently taking his own life — eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser misdemeanor gun charge that didn’t bar him from owning weapons.
Had he been convicted of a felony, Ingham County Prosecutor John Dewane told the Detroit Free Press: “Mr. McRae would have been barred from legally purchasing, owning, or possessing a firearm.”
His father, Michael McRae, told reporters he was against guns and didn’t want them in his house, but his son “kept lying to me about it and told me he got rid of it.”
In a separate interview with News8, Timothy said Anthony, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound hours after the shooting, heard “voices,” and his family struggled to find him adequate help. It is unclear if he was ever medically diagnosed with any mental health issues.
Timothy said, “We are sorry for the loss of life, but at the same time, mental illness is real. When the cops come in contact with people who shouldn’t have firearms and they have a chance to evaluate them, they should evaluate them instead of giving them probation and putting them back on the street.
“[They] caught someone with a firearm who [seemed] unstable — that should have been obvious,” he reasoned.
Neighbors reported he had been firing his gun in the family’s backyard after completing his 18 months’ probation on the firearms charge in May 2021.
The three victims who died in Anthony’s rampage have been named as Brian Fraser, Arielle Diamond Anderson and Alexandria Verner. The five others remain in critical condition in the hospital.
Timothy, who admitted he hadn’t seen Anthony in years, made his comments shortly after Michael told NBC News his son turned “evil” in the wake of his mother’s death in 2020 and refused to leave his room or talk with him.
In his conversation with News8, Timothy McRae agreed with his brother’s assessment.
“The death of a mother is going to send any kid into a spiral, especially if you’re already depressed and schizophrenic, so you can only imagine,” he said.
Now, Timothy explained Thursday, the family is “just trying to piece together what happened.”
Timothy’s comments emerged as more details about the deadly shooting came to light, with survivor Claire Papoulias telling “Today” that McRae was silent while he fired into groups of students.
The victims, she recalled, were “screaming in pain [and] for help.”
