PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — On Feb. 13, 2023, around 8:30 p.m., over 40 law enforcement agencies across Michigan rushed to the Michigan State University campus in East Lansing as reports of an active shooter came in.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office was one of the agencies that sent a convoy of armored vehicles and around 50 deputies in tactical gear with Sheriff Mike Bouchard running point.
"As soon as I got there, I went to the command post. Some of our people had already taken up positions of security around the actual shooting area. But the thing they really needed from us at that point was to have a place where the students could go and be safe and where the parents could meet their kids," Bouchard said.
Nearly 3 miles away from Berkey Hall and the MSU Union, the sheriff's team turned the university's pavilion into a reunification center.
"I was at one door greeting them, hugging a bunch of them," Bouchard said.
But there was one student the father of three will never forget.
"One young lady had flowers in her hands. It was her birthday. And I remember thinking what a terrible thing for her to deal with that moment that now it will be associated with her birthday," Bouchard said.
"What did you say to her?" 7 Action News asked.
"I hugged her. I said, 'You are going to be OK. Your flowers smell great. We will get you through this,'" Bouchard said.
As the tragedy unfolded, three students lost their lives that night. Being a 1979 MSU graduate, Bouchard says the shooting was personal.
"Do you think about if anything could have been done differently that night?" 7 Action News asked.
"Oh, I think about that all the time. I mean, I study active shooters going back 20 years. So after Virginia Tech, where the assailant had put chains on the door for people to prevent from getting out or for help getting in, I ordered bolt cutters to be put in our patrol cars," Bouchard said.
"Sheriff Bouchard, what's the one thing you will never forget from that night?" 7 Action News asked.
"I worked at Ground Zero, I worked at (Hurricane) Katrina and I just know how those things never leave people that are touched by it. Not just the people we are going to save but the people that are rushing to save them. That has scares too. I mean, we have some people who haven't been able to return to work after Oxford (High School shooting)," Bouchard said.
"What's your message for the Spartan community and the Michigan community at large?" 7 Action News asked.
"If you are struggling, get help. It shows strength to get help, not weakness, and that includes first responders," Bouchard said.
Even in the face of darkness, Bouchard says it's how everyone including firefighters, emergency medical technicians and police from across Michigan stood together that proved the best of humanity.
