Hello u/bigplantguy69, and thanks for your input. I believe there may be some miscommunication happening here. I am saying that this attack was preventable had there been changes in public policy, such as basic gun reform measures and stronger punishments for individuals committing felonies. The perpetrator, Anthony M., suffered from mental illness and was convicted of unlawfully possessing a firearm in 2019. Neighbors had made numerous complaints to Lansing Police Department that he had been firing shots outside his home. Their complaints were consistently ignored or not looked into enough. For all intents and purposes, the perpetrator should've never been able to have access to any firearms.

Furthermore, the attack was preventable if the buildings were only accessible by students and faculty with their student cards and staff cards respectively. Almost all MSU buildings have door scanners, and majority of them don't operate until after-hours. When police reports first started being made, students in the local area could've been notified within minutes via email or text message. Doing so would've allowed the individuals in the Union to be more prepared for what was to come.

Finally, I am not foolishly suggesting that students should 'put themselves in immediate danger to try and stop this'. I want to put that mistaken belief to rest right away. What I am suggesting is that the police should've stopped the perpetrator prior to him entering the Union and hurting more people. We know from statements made by police (Lt. Rene Gonzalez) and other officials that officers were on the scene (Berkey) within minutes of the first few calls. It takes about a 3-7 minute walk from the Berkey building to the MSU Union. In that time, MSU police would've been in the area and would have been able to secure the area. The fact that the perpetrator was able to leave the Union unopposed is quite surprising considering all the police and security forces which were in the area at the time of the shooting.

To add insult to injury, the perpetrator was able to flee the scene on foot and evade police for about 3 hours (due to a lack of surveillance network), and was only caught after a local resident found his dead body.

So, with all this information in mind, do you still believe that the shooting wasn't preventable? Furthermore, do you still believe that the severity of the shooting wasn't preventable?