(NewsNation) — London Charles remembers her niece Arielle Diamond Anderson as a peaceful, gentle and kind young woman — in essence, “an angel on Earth.”
Anderson was a 19-year-old who died in Monday’s shooting on the campus of Michigan State University. She is one of three who died that night when a gunman shot up two academic buildings before taking his own life hours later off campus.
Five other students were injured in the shooting and remain in critical condition at a local hospital.
Charles, an actress and social media influencer whose real names is Chandra Davis, joined “CUOMO” to remember her niece, who 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 move, 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.
After the shooting, law enforcement spent hours searching for the suspect, later identified as 43-year-old Anthony Dwayne McRae. It was also later revealed that McRae had no connection to the campus.
Police have not yet identified a motive.
At just 19, Anderson was supposed to be a sophomore at Michigan State but had earned enough credits to move up to her junior year, Bridge Michigan reported.
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.”