Shootings at Michigan State hit home for Greg Gard, who has two children in college, one at Michigan

MADISON – When Greg Gard returned home late Monday night after a long day of prep work at the Kohl Center, he was met by a curious question from his wife, Michelle:

“Did you hear what happened at Michigan State?”

Because coaches tend to live and work in a bubble during the season, Gard’s mind immediately turned to basketball. The Spartans weren't scheduled to play until Wednesday, he recalled.

“I didn’t think they played,” he explained, “and then she starts to tell me.”

Michelle told her husband that eight people had been shot on the Michigan State campus in East Lansing that night.

Greg and Michelle have three children, two in college. Isaac is a freshman at UW, a walk-on on the basketball team. Mackenzie is a senior at Michigan.

“The reason I’m pausing and scratching for words here is I’ve got two kids in college,” said Gard, who was asked about the shooting deaths after UW’s 64-59 victory over Michigan Tuesday night. “And … I know we see it all over way too much in this country, but when you get a call from your daughter … that rocks you because nobody is immune to it, unfortunately. Having two kids in college, I immediately thought about their parents, the kids’ parents at Michigan State, and that has got to be absolutely horrific to go through.”

Mackenzie Gard, like many students on Michigan’s campus in Ann Arbor, learned about the shootings in East Lansing sometime after 8 p.m. Eastern time. She called home and talked to her mother, in part because she has friends who attend Michigan State.

Initial reports were incomplete but at the time it was known that the shooter was on the loose. No one knew if the shooter might travel from East Lansing to Ann Arbor, a distance of less than 70 miles, looking for more victims.

That never happened.

According to law enforcement officials, the suspected shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot after being confronted by police.

As of Wednesday morning, three MSU students were dead and five more were being treated for critical wounds.

“It is everybody’s worst nightmare,” Gard said. “When you’re a parent and you’ve got kids the exact same age and they know people on that campus, that hits big time.

“I just send all my best wishes and thoughts to everybody in East Lansing (for) what they’re going through.

“As a parent, that’s your worst nightmare.”

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