Michigan State University has lifted a lockdown after a shooting left three students dead and five in critical condition on Monday night.
Two of the victims identified were Brian Fraser, a sophomore from Grosse-Pointe, and Alexandria Verner, a junior from Clawson. The third victim's identity was not released "with respect to the family's wishes", MSU police said.
"We sincerely ask the media and community members to respect the families’ privacy," police said in a news release.
President Joe Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden were praying for the victims.
"Our hearts are with these young victims and their families, the broader East Lansing and Lansing communities, and all Americans across the country grieving as the result of gun violence," he said in a statement.
The gunman, Anthony McRae, died of a "self-inflicted gunshot wound", MSU Police and Public Safety said. He "is not affiliated in any way with MSU", police said.
The motive behind the shooting remains unknown.
"We have absolutely no idea what the motive was," said Chris Rozman, Michigan State University Department of Public Safety's interim deputy chief.
A note was found on Mr McRae's body that indicated a threat to two schools in Ewing, New Jersey, the district's superintendent said.
"As the investigation continued, and out of an abundance of caution, the Ewing Public Schools were closed for the day," Superintendent David Gentile said.
Authorities urged people on campus to seek shelter soon after shots rang out at 8.30pm.
They later released images that showed the suspected killer wearing red shoes and a denim jacket and said that he was last seen leaving the campus union building immediately after the shooting.
Victims were admitted to Sparrow Hospital, some with “life-threatening injuries”, Mr Rozman said.
The university said all activities had been cancelled for 48 hours and advised students not to come to the campus.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson described the incident as “unfathomable”.
“Holding the entire university community in my heart,” Ms Benson said on Twitter. “This repetitive terror cannot continue. We must come together and do whatever it takes to protect our kids and communities from gun violence.”
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said the university community "will mourn the loss of beautiful souls and pray for those fighting for their lives in the hospital".
The campus is one of the largest in the US by area and has more than 50,000 students, according to its website.
Reuters contributed to this report
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
