At least 12 people, including six children, were injured in a mass shooting near Florida A&M University’s Bragg Memorial Stadium as homecoming celebrations descended into panic.
Eleven people were struck by gunfire shortly after 8pm on Saturday near the junction of Perry and Manatee streets in Tallahassee. The youngest victim was 11.
Three of those shot suffered serious injuries, including one person who was in a critical condition. Eight others were described as stable, while a 12th person – the grandmother of one of the victims – was hurt while trying to escape.
Police investigate Florida university stadium shooting
Tallahassee police chief Lawrence Revell said investigators believed a fight had broken out between individuals before the shooting, but no arrests had been made and no suspects had been identified by a late-night update.
“I stand before you tonight devastated,” Mr Revell told reporters, saying he was struggling to comprehend the violence.
The shooting happened after Florida A&M’s Rattlers lost their homecoming football game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, with large crowds still gathered in the streets around the stadium.
Officers and emergency workers faced difficulty reaching the wounded because of the number of people in the area. Mr Revell said police had carried victims in their arms when emergency vehicles could not get through.
“We had officers who were picking up victims and carrying them in their arms to transport because they couldn’t get through the mass of people,” he said.
Videos shared online showed officers carrying an injured person through a car park on a makeshift cloth stretcher. Other footage appeared to show emergency responders treating someone on the ground by torchlight as crowds fled.
Witnesses described families running, falling and hiding as the gunfire erupted. One person wrote on Facebook: “My kids and their friends were crying and I’m trying to pull other people kids to safety.”
Another witness described Perry Street as “wild”, saying people had been “running, falling, ducking and hiding”. A separate post alleged that people had been shot directly in front of the writer.
Florida State University advised students, staff and faculty across Tallahassee to remain indoors as a precaution. It said there was no indication that members of its community had been involved.
By 9.45pm, police said the shooting scene had been secured, although the full number of victims was not confirmed until later.
Florida A&M said its campus remained safe and urged people to avoid the area while law enforcement carried out its investigation.
“Our hearts go out to the victims and all those affected by this tragic incident,” the university said.
