‘Everyone got split up’: Mass. native describes chaos during deadly shooting at Michigan State

EAST LANSING, Michigan — “Yeah, the place across from me is getting shot up. But just know I’m okay.”

That is how 20-year-old Nick Ciampa let his Mom back in Middleton, Massachusetts know a gunman was loose on the Michigan State University campus Monday night.

Ciampa, a sophomore studying economics, was just about to head over to the M-S Union to join friends for dinner. En route, he and his roommate diverted momentarily to their nearby dorm.

“I honestly have no idea why,” Ciampa said. “We were walking to The Union and then we just came in for a couple of minutes for something and I’m glad we did.”

Because suddenly there was chaos.

“We had three, four kids running up the stairs saying, they’re shooting up The Union,” Ciampa said. “Everyone’s like, don’t go near The Union. People are shooting it.”

For a couple of hours, Ciampa had no idea if the friends he planned to join for dinner made it out of The Union alive.

“Everyone kind of got split up,” he said. “What was bad was they just dropped everything they had and ran. Kids didn’t have their phones or their backpacks. Nothing. No communication. It was hard to make sure everyone I knew was okay.”

Gradually, through texts from borrowed phones, Ciampa learned all his friends survived the shooting without injury. However, three students died and five were critically injured. Ciampa does not know any of the victims.

While residence halls on the MSU campus have secure entry points, the two buildings the gunman entered are essentially open to the public, Ciampa said. Still, he was alarmed a shooting actually happened on university grounds.

“You know, you hear of shootings off campus, like right outside of campus,” Ciampa said. “But it never happens where they come onto campus and do it.”

Until now.

“I’m not afraid it’s going to happen again,” Ciampa said. “But it could. You never know. You’ve got to be prepared.”

MSU is preparing to reopen for classes next Monday. Ciampa said many students have gone home because of that but for another reason, he thinks, as well.

“I think a lot of people are scared,” he said. “They don’t want to be here.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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