Gunfire Erupts Blocks From FAMU's Homecoming Stadium, Wounding 12 — Half of Them Kids
Police say a fight broke out moments before the shooting near Bragg Memorial Stadium Saturday night. By Sunday morning, six victims remained hospitalized and no suspect had been identified.
A shooting outside Florida A&M University's homecoming stadium left a dozen people wounded Saturday night, including six children, in what police say followed a physical altercation just before the gunfire broke out.
The shooting happened around 8 p.m. at an intersection on Perry Street, next to Bragg Memorial Stadium, hours after FAMU's homecoming football game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff had wrapped up, according to NBC News. Eleven of the 12 injured were struck by gunfire; the twelfth suffered a separate injury amid the chaos.
Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell said investigators believe a fight broke out shortly before shots were fired, though no motive or suspect had been identified as of Sunday morning. "It is especially heartbreaking to know that children are among those injured," Revell said.
"TONIGHT, OUR THOUGHTS ARE WITH THE VICTIMS AND THEIR FAMILIES AS THEY FACE THE DEVASTATING IMPACT OF THIS VIOLENCE."
That statement from Chief Revell, relayed Sunday by CBS News and the Associated Press, came alongside an updated casualty count: six of the 12 wounded remained hospitalized Sunday, one in critical condition, while five others had already been discharged.
A Campus on Edge
FAMU said in a statement that the shooting happened off campus and that the university itself remained safe, while urging the public to stay away from the area around Perry Street as police worked the scene. "Our hearts are with the victims and everyone affected by tonight's incident," the university said.
The ripple effects reached beyond FAMU's gates. Florida State University, located about a mile away, issued its own emergency alert telling students and staff to shelter in place as a precaution, even though officials said no one connected to FSU appeared to be involved in the shooting.
Homecoming weekends draw huge crowds to historically Black colleges and universities nationwide, packing campus perimeters with alumni, students and visiting families well after the final whistle — exactly the kind of dense, after-dark crowd that turned a street-corner altercation into a mass-casualty event in seconds.
No arrests have been announced. Tallahassee police have not released details on the number of shooters involved or whether any weapons have been recovered, and the investigation remains active.