Students Wounded in Michigan State Shooting Take Steps Toward Lawsuit

EAST LANSING—Two students who were among eight killed or wounded in a winter shooting at Michigan State University are taking steps toward suing the school.

Attorneys for Nate Statly and Troy Forbush, who survived the shooting, have filed notices of injury and allegations of building defects at Berkey Hall, where they were shot on Feb. 13.

The notices are required under Michigan law and would give Michigan State time to investigate before a lawsuit could be filed.

Three students were killed and five more were wounded when a gunman opened fire at Berkey Hall and the MSU Union.

Statly has suffered permanent injuries and cannot speak, walk or eat whole foods, according to the notice dated Friday. He has received care so far at four health centers.

The document says easy access to buildings and a failure to improve security created a dangerous risk for injury.

Forbush “pleaded for his life” with gunman Anthony McRae and shouted, “I don’t want to die,” the notice states. He was shot in the chest.

Forbush has subsequently made public appearances calling for gun safety. He continues to struggle with lung injuries, his attorneys said.

“MSU has been engaged in conversations with the families of those we lost and those injured to identify ways to provide ongoing support, and we are committed to keeping those lines of communication open,” Michigan State spokesman Dan Olsen said when asked about the legal notices.

McRae, a Lansing resident with no known ties to Michigan State, was killed when confronted by police about four miles from campus.

Michigan State is installing locks so classroom doors can be locked from the inside, among the steps it has taken to improve safety.