‘Angel on Earth’: Third MSU student laid to rest

DETROIT (NewsNation) — Arielle Diamond Anderson of Harper Woods, Michigan, is being remembered by friends and family as a peaceful, gentle and kind young woman — in essence, “an angel on Earth.”

Arielle, 19, was among the three students who were killed when a gunman opened fire in two academic buildings on the Michigan State University Lansing campus.

Visitation for Arielle was held on Monday, Feb. 20, at QA Cantrell Funeral Services LLC. in Eastpointe, Michigan, according to MLive. A funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Tuesday at Zion Hope Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan.

“We are absolutely devastated by this heinous act of violence upon her and many other innocent victims,” her family said.

Anderson was a junior who graduated from Grosse Pointe North High School. She was pushing to graduate early from Michigan State, hoping to become a surgeon as quickly as possible, the statement said.

She was supposed to be a sophomore but had earned enough credits to move up to her junior year, Bridge Michigan reported.

Arielle’s aunt London Charles, an actress and social media influencer whose real name is Chandra Davis, joined “CUOMO” to remember her niece, who she said had dreams of becoming a pediatrician.

“She just lit up a room with her ability to be good,” Charles said. “Arielle was one of those family members that whenever we wanted to go and do ‘adulting,’ like going outside to play cards or just sip some red wine and watch a movie, Arielle always kept the kids. She was good with them, because she’s patient, she’s kind.”

Anderson was the last of three kids that her mom ensured got through college. She had just returned to the MSU campus the day before she died after visiting her mother for the weekend in Harper Woods, east of Detroit.

“She went back to school, and this is the tragedy that she had to face,” London said.

The family said Anderson enjoyed photography, art and making content for her YouTube channel.

“She was important. She was love, she was kindness, she was goodness. This shouldn’t have happened to her,” Charles said. “She would have definitely been a contribution (to life). She still will be a contribution. The devil won’t win. She has a purpose that’s definitely going to live out.”

Jon Dean, superintendent of the Grosse Pointe schools, mourned the loss of his district’s former students in an open letter.

“I can’t even process what I just wrote,” Dean said. “It is with a great deal of sadness that I bring this news to you, and my thoughts go out to the many families that are suffering from another senseless act of violence.”

Arielle’s family started a memorial fundraiser through GoFundMe to cover financial costs.

The two other MSU students who were killed in Monday’s shooting were identified as Brian Fraser, 20, of Grosse Point Park, Michigan, and Alexandria Verner, 20, of Clawson, Michigan. Brian and Alexandria were both laid to rest on Saturday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.