Michigan State shooting 911 calls reveal chaotic moments inside Berkey Hall

EAST LANSING, Mich. (FOX 2) - The first calls to 911 on the night of the Michigan State University shooting reveal the chaotic moments inside Berkey Hall.

Students in the classroom, others on campus, and even a concerned parent called 911 moments after Anthony McRae opened fire on Feb. 13.

These calls highlight not only the chaos on campus but the calm demeanor of dispatchers doing what they could to help from afar while fielding thousands of calls.

Numerous students who were in the classroom where the shooting described what they witnessed as dispatchers provided them with instructions, including to apply pressure to wounds if possible and make sure the door is locked. This all was happening with yelling in the background as students worked to get to safety and figure out what happened. 

VIEW: Police release full MSU shooting timeline, shooter's note

"I’m at Berkey Hall and my class was shot at," one caller said. "He’s bleeding, he’s bleeding."

When asked if she saw what the shooter dispatcher looked like, the caller said she put her head down when the shooting started and didn't see anything.

While taking the call, dispatchers can be heard asking others to take the call as they handled the influx of callers.

"People were shot. Please come," another caller said.

She told the dispatcher that people were holding the classroom door shut as others started escaping through a window.

"People are going out the window now," she said. "People are leaving."

The dispatcher instructed her to also go out of the window and as far away as she could, and stayed on the phone with her until she made it out.

One dispatcher worked to keep a caller who was crying and difficult to understand calm.

More: Thousands raised for dispatcher who fielded 911 calls during MSU shooting

"I know this is a very moment for you, but I need you to talk to me," the dispatcher said while asking if the door was shut and locked.

A parent also called during this time, saying that her son called her about the shooting. She was desperate for answers and kept asking what was happening.

The dispatcher told her that they didn't have much information to provide, reassured her that police were headed to the campus, and told her an officer would call her.

These calls highlight only the first to come in after the MSU shooting. Ingham County 911 dispatchers handled 2,100 phone calls From Feb. 13 to Feb. 14 between the hours of 8 p.m. and 1 a.m., with 1,450 being 911 calls. This is the equivalent of 2 ½ days’ worth of calls for the dispatch center, all within a five-hour period, police said.