We are sad to report Arielle Diamond Anderson, the 19-year-old niece of “Flavor of Love” reality star Deelishis, was one of three students killed in the mass shooting at Michigan State University (MSU) on Monday night (February 13).
Deelishis, whose real name is Chandra Davis, took to social media to ask the public for their help in locating her niece because she was in the same building as the active shooter and they had not heard from her.
She wrote:
My beautiful niece @ariellediamond_ is a student at MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY… she was in her classroom in the same building as the active shooter and we have not heard from her. If you know her whereabouts please dm me … in the meantime my family and I ask for your prayers 🙏🏼❤️‼️ #MichiganStateUniversity #ArielleDiamond
See Deelishis’ original Instagram post below:
Hours later, Deelishis pinned a comment from a family member who seemingly confirmed Arielle Diamond Anderson was killed.
The comment read, “My sweet beautiful niece… RIP baby girl.”
Via Bridge Michigan:
On Tuesday, family members recalled that they last saw Arielle last weekend. She had come home Thursday to visit her mother Dawana Davis in Harper Woods, just east of Detroit. They went to a Detroit Pistons game, and the teen spent time with her grandmother April Davis and an aunt who has special needs.
On Sunday morning, Anderson’s father took her back to school.
Kim Spivey, another aunt, confirmed that Anderson was in class when the shooting happened. “She was super smart, at the top of her class,” Spivey said. “She was going to be a doctor.”
Still just 19, Anderson was supposed to be a sophomore at Michigan State, but she earned enough credits to move up to her junior year at Grosse Pointe North.
“She loved it,” Spivey said of MSU. “Her mom wanted her to go to Wayne State, but she was like, ‘No I wanna go to Michigan State.’”
One of Anderson’s favorite hobbies was photography and her aunt said her art was featured at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Anderson also liked creating content on her Youtube channel, going to concerts and spending time with her family.
“She had a special needs auntie who she loved,” said Davis, the grandmother. “That was her pride and joy.”
“Everybody loved her,” added Spivey. “Nobody’s perfect, but she’s close as they come.”
In a press release, police said the other two victims were Grosse Pointe sophomore Brian Fraser and Clawson junior Alexandria Verner.
“In respect to the family’s wishes, (we) will not be releasing the third victim’s name at this time,” police said. “We sincerely ask the media and community members to respect the families’ privacy.”
Police have identified the gunman as Anthony McRae.
McRae, 43, died of a self-inflicted gunshot after being confronted by police on Lansing’s north side, said Michigan State Police Department’s interim Deputy Chief Chris Rozman.
“Absolutely no idea what the motive is at this point,” Rozman said Tuesday morning during a press conference.
Three of the victims died and five were critically wounded.
We send our sincere condolences to Deelishis and her family, and to all the families impacted by the senseless and tragic Michigan State University mass shooting.
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