MSU shooting victims remembered for their kindness, senses of humor


The three Michigan State University students shot and killed Monday on campus have been identified as Arielle Anderson, Brian Fraser, and Alexandria Verner.
Anderson, a 19-year-old junior from Harper Woods, Michigan, was a straight-A student with impeccable manners, her uncle, Tim Davis, told The Detroit News. "She was just sweet and innocent," he said. "She was soft-spoken, always helpful. In my opinion, she was just perfect the way she conducted herself." In a statement, Anderson's family said she wanted to become a surgeon, and was "working diligently to graduate from Michigan State University early to achieve her goals as quickly as possible."
Fraser, a 20-year-old sophomore from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, played lacrosse and was a swimmer at Grosse Point South High School. On Facebook, the swimming and diving team paid tribute to Fraser, recalling his "infectious smile and sense of humor that could light up the pool deck and bring laughter to the entire team." Fraser served as the chapter president of the Michigan Beta Chapter of Phi Delta Theta, making him a leader in the Greek community. "He was a good kid," his father, Sean Fraser, told The Detroit News. "He was loved by everyone."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Verner, a 20-year-old junior from Clawson, Michigan, played basketball, volleyball, and softball all four years at Clawson High School. "Alex was and is incredibly loved by everyone," Clawson Public Schools Superintendent Billy Shellenbarger wrote in a letter to parents in the district. "She was a tremendous student, athlete, [and] leader, and exemplified kindness every day of her life." At MSU, she was studying integrated biology and anthropology. Her father, Ted Verner, told The Washington Post she was a "beautiful soul," and it's "going to be my mission in life to make sure that families don't go through what we went through."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
George Floyd: Did Black Lives Matter fail?
Feature The momentum for change fades as the Black Lives Matter Plaza is scrubbed clean
-
National debt: Why Congress no longer cares
Feature Rising interest rates, tariffs and Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill could sent the national debt soaring
-
Why are military experts so interested in Ukraine's drone attack?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The Zelenskyy government's massive surprise assault on Russian airfields was a decisive tactical victory — could it also be the start of a new era in autonomous warfare?
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside home
speed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confession
speed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulder
speed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC parade
speed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack
-
2 Israel Embassy staff shot dead at DC Jewish museum
speed read The suspected gunman chanted 'free, free Palestine'
-
Bombing of fertility clinic blamed on 'antinatalist'
speed read A car bombing injured four people and damaged a fertility clinic and nearby buildings in Palm Springs, California
-
Suspect charged after 11 die in Vancouver car attack
Speed Read Kai-Ji Adam Lo drove an SUV into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day festival
-
Kenya arrests alleged ant smugglers
speed read Two young Belgians have been charged for attempting to smuggle ants out of the country to exotic pet buyers