Mass shooting at FAMU homecoming in Tallahassee injures 12, including six children

Gunfire broke out near Bragg Memorial Stadium during Florida A&M University's homecoming night, leaving 12 injured — six of them children. No arrests have been made.

Gunfire erupts outside FAMU stadium on homecoming night, twelve injured

Tallahassee's Florida A&M University homecoming night ended in violence on Saturday, 24 October, when a gunman opened fire near Bragg Memorial Stadium shortly before 8 p.m., injuring 12 people — six of them children. According to tallahassee.com, the shooting on Perry and Manatee streets ranks among the worst mass shootings in the city's history.

Chief Lawrence Revell of the Tallahassee Police Department told reporters at a midnight news conference that 11 of the 12 victims were struck by gunshots; the twelfth was a grandmother injured while fleeing the scene. Three victims sustained serious injuries, and one remained in critical condition as of early Sunday. The youngest victim was 11 years old.

By Sunday morning, five of the injured had been discharged from hospital, while six remained under treatment. A TPD spokesperson confirmed on Sunday night that the gender breakdown was six males and six females. A noon update from the police department stated that "at this time, no deaths have been reported in connection to this incident."

"I stand before you tonight devastated," Revell said at the news conference. "I unfortunately just walked through the scene a little while ago ... and I want to say first and foremost that my heart goes out to our victims and their families. We understand the concern that this type of event causes for the community."

Cellphone footage that circulated on social media showed Tallahassee police officers helping victims by flashlight as they lay on the ground. Other clips captured officers carrying a victim through a parking lot in what appeared to be a makeshift stretcher, and crowds of people fleeing in panic from the area around the stadium.

One woman posted on Facebook that her 14-year-old daughter had been "injured and trampled over" while trying to run. "People were just stepping on her body and she said she screamed for help," she wrote. "She saw bodies on the ground in front of her and her first thought was to just lay there and not move until someone came and helped her up." She said her daughter was left "shaken up and traumatized" with two sprained ankles.

Kyra Williams, a food vendor from Valdosta, Georgia, said a "wave of people" fleeing the gunshots "literally shook our food truck." In a post at the time, she said she "couldn't do anything but pray," adding: "I'm so sorry people are so cruel and heartless to take such precious life over something so minuscule. It could have been anyone."

Mayor John Dailey, who had attended the homecoming parade earlier that day, described the shooting as a "truly horrific and heartbreaking tragedy" in a post on X. "Tonight and in the days ahead, the FAMU family is not alone," he wrote. "Our entire community stands with you."

The shooting took place approximately an hour after the FAMU Rattlers lost 31–28 to Arkansas-Pine Bluff in front of a crowd of 20,549 at Bragg Memorial Stadium. The area around Perry and Manatee streets, where the shooting occurred, is typically filled with food trucks and vendors during home football games.

Revell said police believed a single shooter fired into the crowd, though no arrests had been made and no person of interest had been identified as of the news conference. "Our preliminary information shows that an altercation occurred between individuals," he said. "We do not know exactly what happened. What we do believe is that it was an isolated incident between two or three individuals and nothing more than that."

Days before the homecoming game, FAMU had extended its postgame tailgating hours following criticism of an earlier 8 p.m. cutoff. The university pushed the limit to 10 p.m. — a decision made jointly by university administration and the FAMU Police Department. At the time, FAMU said the extended hours "reflect the spirit of homecoming and the special opportunity it provides for Rattlers to return to The Hill, reconnect with friends and classmates, and create new memories together."

Revell praised officers who responded to the scene, noting that some had physically carried victims through the crowd. "We had officers that were picking victims and carrying them in their arms because they couldn't get through the mass of people," he said. "Without hesitation, they ran into the middle of this, still not knowing where the shooters were, still not knowing how many victims we had."

At least one of the injured was identified as a FAMU student. The chief, who grew up a mile and a half from the scene, described the violence as "incredibly troubling." "No family should have to experience this kind of violence, this kind of fear, this kind of heartbreak," he said.

Investigations were ongoing as of Sunday, with detectives, forensic personnel and supervisors still processing the scene.

Source: Google News MT