Who is Dana Nessel? Attorney General investigating MSU shooting says her twin sons attend the college
EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN: The shooting at Michigan State University (MSU) that left three people dead (later identified as Arielle Anderson, Brian Fraser and Alexandria Verner) and five injured at 8.pm on Monday night, January 13, was the 67th mass shooting in the state. Police identified the suspect as Anthony Dwayne McRae, a 43-year-old man who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. As previously reported, this was the second fatal mass shooting for Oxford High students, now freshmen at MSU, in less than two years.
Michigan’s attorney general, Dana Nessel, in charge of the criminal investigation into the MSU shooting, issued a statement stating, "As a parent, there is no greater fear than having your child tell you there is an active shooter at their school. I experienced this terror along with thousands of other MSU families last night. While my Spartan sons are safe, I am mourning the devastating loss and senseless violence. The events at Michigan State University are a tragedy for the entire state of Michigan. My thoughts are with the victims, their families, friends, and loved ones." She added, "I want to thank everyone in law enforcement who worked to secure the campus and protect the community. I am hopeful that the investigation reveals how we can better protect our children, our neighbors, and all those who call Michigan home.”
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Nessel has twin sons, Zach and Alex, 20, with her wife, Alanna Maguire, who attend MSU. She said Tuesday, January 14, that one of them had just left one of the locations on campus shortly before the shooting occurred, Michigan Advance reports. According to the DailyMail, in an interview with MSNBC, Nessel emphasized the fact that she couldn't even ensure the safety of her sons as she recounted, "I can’t believe as a parent in America you can’t move your child into college without seriously having to wonder whether they’re going to make it through the next four years without being the victim of a mass shooting. That was a concern I had when I moved my kids into school a year and a half ago and I couldn’t make it through a year and a half without an incident like this happening and I’m the top law enforcement official in this state. I couldn’t prevent it from happening." Nessel further stated, "What hope do any of us have if we don’t have legislatures who are willing to do something? We have to start loving our kids more than our guns,"
How did Anthony Dwayne McRae obtain a gun?
Nessel is investigating how McRae, a convicted felon who had already been caught once with a loaded handgun in 2019, was able to obtain the weapon he used to kill the students. Speaking about it, she said, "One of the things that we’re going to need to know is how did he get that weapon? And can we put laws in place here in Michigan to ensure that a person, such as himself, who’s ineligible to own a firearm can never access one? I expect to see a number of new laws put into place in short order, whether or not that would have prevented this particular offense from happening. I think the investigation will tell us that."
"A person must be at least 18 years of age to hunt with (possess) a handgun. Handguns cannot be borrowed or loaned to another person other than provided for under the concealed pistol license (CPL)," as per the Department of Natural Resources. Michigan’s gun laws do not "prohibit a person who has CPL to carry a weapon out in the open inside a school. But if one has a license to carry a concealed pistol they may carry it on their hip into a school," states Local 4.
Who is Dana Nessel?
Nessel, a graduate of the University of Michigan and Wayne State University Law School, is Michigan's 54th Attorney General since January 1, 2019. She began her legal career as an Assistant Prosecutor in the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, where she handled cases in the Child and Family Abuse Bureau, the Police Conduct Review Team and the Auto Theft Unit, according to the National Association Attorneys General. In 2005, she left the Prosecutor's Office to start her own law practice. She is also the founder and first president of the Fair Michigan Foundation, known as one of Michigan's leading litigators on LGBTQ issues. She has received awards for her civil rights initiatives, including the Michigan State Bar Association's Champion of Justice Award, Michigan Lawyers Weekly's Woman of the Year Award, and Wayne State University Law School 's Treasure of Detroit Award.
As per Michigan Department of Attorney General, she created Michigan's Elder Abuse Task Force in partnership with the Michigan Supreme Court to stop crimes against the elderly. She also created a Conviction Integrity Unit to investigate presumptions of innocence.
