3 People Shot at Florida State University, Gunman Killed

By Sean Rossman and Karl Etters, USA Today

20 November 14

hree students were shot early Thursday at a Florida State University library before campus police killed the gunman, Tallahassee police said.

The officers confronted the gunman, whose name has not been released, and ordered him to drop his weapon, Tallahassee Police spokesman Dave Northway said. But the gunman fired at them and they unleashed a volley of shots, Northway said.

University police turned the investigation over to the Tallahassee department.

One victim was hospitalized in critical condition and another in good condition, a spokersperson for Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said. A third person was grazed by a bullet and was treated at the scene and released.

The victims' families have been notified, but their names have not be released, police said. Campus police turned the investigation over to the Tallahassee Police Department.

"You never think something like this is going to happen to you until you have to react in that situation when someone is screaming there is a gun in the building. I ran for my life," said Allison Kope, a freshman from Cocoa Beach, Fla. "I ran right out the back door. My laptop and everything is still in there. It was shock. It was just instinct. You don't think about anything else, you just go."

The incident at Strozier Library started shortly around 12:30 a.m. ET. About 300 to 400 students were inside the campus' main library, which is open 24 hours on weekdays, when the shooter entered with a handgun and opened fire.

"Security is not lacking on campus," campus Chief David Perry said. "This person for whatever reason produced a handgun and started shooting."

University President John Thrasher described the shootings as an isolated incident but also said police did "an extraordinary job taking quick and decisive action to prevent further tragedy."

Officials canceled classes Thursday but kept the campus open and made counseling available to students and staff.

Daniel Morales, a 19-year-old freshman from Fort Pierce, Fla., said that when he first heard someone say, " 'Somebody's got a gun.' I thought he was joking." But after realizing a gunman was in the library, Morales and others raced to a back room on the second floor where they barricaded a door with desks.

Three freshmen who were in the DeGraff Hall dormitory at the time said they began getting reports from friends locked down in the library.

"We know there are definitely people who saw the shooter," Anthony Coons said.

His friend Max Martin described the surreal scene.

"You hear all these stories on the news, then it happens," Martin said. "This is something you never want to happen."

Nikolai Hernandez, who was in another dorm room nearby, said he heard "consecutive gunshots" that sounded as if they came from an automatic rifle.

"That was confirmed when I went outside and talked to someone who said they say police open fire on a shooter who was armed right on the front steps of the library," the freshman said.

The video below was posted on Facebook by Jessica Davis. An individual can be heard over the intercom saying "There has been a shooting in the library. Stay where you are," and instructing people to call 911 if they have been shot.

Post by facebook.

Students were allowed to leave the library about 3 a.m. Before that, students were on lockdown at the campus' library and in dorms.

The shooting is being investigated as a homicide and attempted murder case, said Chief Michael DeLeo of the Tallahassee Police Department.

"It will take hours and days to put all the pieces together," DeLeo said. "Everyone wants to know why, and that's the hard question we are going to continue to investigate and try to find those answers for everybody."

More than 20 emergency vehicles from Tallahassee's police and fire departments, as well as from Leon County Emergency Services, blocked off the area around Landis Green, near the library. Strozier is named for a former president of the university.

Florida State University police issued an alert warning its 40,000 students that read: "Dangerous Situation! Main Campus — Tallahassee. Seek shelter immediately, away from doors and windows."

"If there is any positive news we can take from this occurrence (it) is that the victim count was not higher," Tallahassee Mayor-elect Andrew Gillum said.

Social media immediately lit up with messages of concern and prayer requests.