MSU shooting victim Guadalupe Huapilla-Perez slowly recovering, sister says

• Guadalupe Huapilla-Perez was shot twice at Berkey Hall
• She is conscious and able to get out of bed with a walker and assistance, her sister says
• The junior from Florida is the daughter of migrant workers and an active sorority member

One of five Michigan State University students injured in last week’s shooting has begun physical therapy and can get out of bed with a walker, but two bullets damaged five organs, her sister said.

Guadalupe Huapilla-Perez’s spleen was removed and her lungs, colon, stomach and diaphragm were injured in the mass shooting on Feb. 13, her sister, Selena Huapilla-Perez, wrote Monday on GoFundMe.

“Because of the trauma her organs received during the shooting followed by the trauma of a major surgery like the one she went through, doctors tell us her organs will take some time before they can perform their functions again,” Selena Huapilla-Perez wrote.

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“Though the physical side of her recovery is showing small improvement, her mental and emotional side will be its own challenge. Remembering that night and talking about it bring her great sadness, anxiety, and fear. One of the first things she wanted to know when she could talk was ‘How are my classmates?’"

Two students in Huapilla-Perez’s class last Monday, IAH211C on Cuban cultural identity, in Berkey Hall were killed when a 43-year-old Lansing man opened the door Monday evening and began firing: Arielle Diamond Anderson, 19, of Harper Woods, and Alexandria Verner, 20, of Clawson.

Another student in that classroom, John Hao, 20, a junior from China, was also shot and is paralyzed from the chest down, his roommate revealed. He was one of several students injured in the class. 

 “One of the first things she wanted to know when she could talk was ‘How are my classmates?’" — Sister of injured MSU student Guadalupe Huapilla-Perez

Another student, Brian Fraser, 20, of Grosse Pointe Park, was killed by the gunman at the MSU Union after leaving Berkey Hall. The gunman killed himself after he was confronted by police several hours after the attack.

Two of the five injured students remain in critical condition at Sparrow Hospital, while the conditions of three others have improved, MSU officials said Monday. MSU has not identified all the victims, but one of the other students injured in the shooting was also from China.

Huapilla-Perez, a junior studying hospitality business, is making slow recovery, her sister wrote on GoFundMe, and is “mostly off all the tubes she had the first day we arrived” and “doctors are working with her to exercise her lungs and get them to breathe on their own.,”

Huapilla-Perez came to MSU from South Florida and is the daughter of migrant workers. She was the president of her high school’s 2020 graduating class and is an active sorority member.

Her family arrived in East Lansing to be at her bedside. Her GoFundMe had raised more than $450,000 as of Monday at 5:30 p.m.

“Once she is able to, Lupe looks forward to being able to go home to Florida and continue recovery there in the comfort of our home,” the sister’s GoFundMe post read. 

“She is still motivated to finish her classes for the semester but at the moment, we are encouraging her to take her recovery one day at a time.”

Her sister wrote that it’s “still hard for us to find the words to say how much your support for our family means to us during this difficult time, but we can start with thank you.”

Classes resumed at MSU on Monday.