TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Multiple victims were reported in a shooting Thursday at Florida State University and a suspect was taken into police custody, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
The extent of the victims’ injuries was not immediately known and there were no additional details about the person in custody, according to the person was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
At least six people were being treated, including one person who was in critical condition, a spokesperson for Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said. The other patients were in serious condition, the spokesperson said.
Authorities had not yet released details about the suspect or how the shooting unfolded.
Ambulances, fire trucks and patrol vehicles from multiple law enforcement agencies raced toward the campus that sits just west of Florida’s state capital after the university issued an active shooter alert midday Thursday, saying police were responding near the student union.
Ryan Cedergren, a 21-year-old communications student, said he and about 30 others hid in the bowling alley in the lower level of the student union after seeing students running from a nearby bar.
“In that moment, it was survival,” he said.
After about 15 minutes of hiding, university police escorted the students out of the union and he saw a person getting emergency treatment on the lawn, he said.
Hundreds of students streamed away from the student union. Some were glued to their phones while others hugged each other. Dozens gathered near the music school waiting for news.
President Donald Trump said from the Oval Office that he had been fully briefed on the shooting. “It’s a horrible thing. It’s horrible that things like this takes place,” he said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote on X: “Our prayers are with our FSU family and state law enforcement is actively responding.”
Junior Joshua Sirmans, 20, was in the university’s main library when he said alarms began going off warning of an active shooter. Law enforcement officers escorted him and other students from the library with their hands over their heads, he said.
Students and faculty across the campus were locked down in classrooms and sheltered in offices and dorm rooms after receiving the warnings.
“I’m in shock, you know, it’s so hard to believe,” said Kai McGalla, a sophomore who spoke by phone while locked down at a campus testing center. “The first thing you think of is just, ‘This can’t be true,’ right?”
Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a social media post that the Justice Department was in touch with FBI agents who were on the scene.
Florida State University is one of Florida’s 12 public universities, with its main campus in Tallahassee. About 44,000 students are enrolled in the university, per the school’s 2024 fact sheet.
Back in 2014, the main library was the site of a shooting that wounded three people. Officers shot and killed the gunman, 31-year-old Myron May.
The university canceled all classes and events for Thursday, advising everyone to avoid coming to the main campus. It also canceled all home athletic events through Sunday.
Fischer reported from Fort Lauderdale. Associated Press reporters Stephany Matat in West Palm Beach, Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Michael Schneider in Orlando, Mike Balsamo in New York, Eric Tucker and Christopher Megerian in Washington, and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.
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