Michigan State University student who could hear gunshots and see smoke: ‘I thought I was going to die’

Claire Papoulias, a sophomore at Michigan State University, said on NBC’s Today show Tuesday that she thought she was “going to die” as the shooting unfolded Monday night.

“I heard the shots, like right behind my head, and I could see the smoke, like gunpowder or something in this weapon, and then I could smell it – and I immediately fell to the floor with all my classmates, and someone shouted that there was a shooter, and everyone had to lie down on the ground, ”she said. “And at that moment I thought I was going to die.”

“After I heard those shots, my classmates at the end of the class started screaming for help, and my other classmates rushed into the fray trying to help everyone,” Papoulias continued. “If my classmates didn’t help everyone, I don’t think we all would have made it, because right away someone said, ‘We need to break this window.

“The shooter, he came in through the back door… and he just started attacking people, and I will never forget the screams of my classmates, they were screaming in pain for help,” she added. “After they opened the window, they started walking people through.”

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A worker cleans outside Burke Hall at Michigan State University Tuesday, February 14, in East Lansing, Michigan. (AP/Carlos Osorio)

It is not immediately clear what caused gunman Anthony McRae to leave Burke Hall for the school’s student union, where he also opened fire.

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Anthony McRae is featured in this booking photo provided by the Michigan Department of Corrections. (Michigan Department of Corrections/AP)

But Papoulias says he entered the room and started shooting without warning.

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Students gather on the campus of Michigan State University after an orphanage order was lifted in East Lansing, Michigan, in the early hours of Tuesday, Feb. 14. (AP/Al Goldis)

“There was a boy in my class, and he was waiting outside the window, catching people and helping them down,” Papoulias also said. “I just grabbed my backpack and phone and I remember just running for my life. I didn’t know where this guy was.”

On Tuesday, police said the attack killed three Michigan State University students and five are in critical condition.