2 killed, at least 5 wounded in mass shooting at Florida State University

The Associated Press

· Posted: Apr 17, 2025 5:39 PM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

A gunman opened occurrence Thursday astatine Florida State University, sidesplitting 2 radical and wounded astatine slightest 5 others, constabulary said.

The 20-year-old gunman was the lad of a sheriff's lawman whose erstwhile work limb was utilized successful the shooting, authorities said.

The 2 radical who died were not students astatine the university, located successful Tallahassee, Fla., but the shooter is believed to beryllium a student, said Jason Trumbower, main of the Florida State University constabulary department.

Five radical were being treated astatine Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, Trumbower said, and the shooter was besides receiving aesculapian attention.

Frightened students and parents hid successful a bowling alley and crammed into a freight elevator wrong the pupil national aft proceeding gunshots extracurricular the building.

Ambulances, occurrence trucks and patrol vehicles from aggregate instrumentality enforcement agencies raced toward the field conscionable westbound of Florida's superior aft the assemblage issued an progressive shooter alert midday Thursday, saying constabulary were responding adjacent the pupil union.

'In that moment, it was survival'

Ryan Cedergren, a 21-year-old communications student, said helium and astir 30 others hid successful the bowling alley successful the union's little level aft seeing students moving from a adjacent bar.

"In that moment, it was survival," helium said. After astir 15 minutes, assemblage constabulary escorted the students retired of the gathering and helium saw a idiosyncratic getting exigency attraction connected the lawn, helium said.

Chris Pento told tv presumption WCTV that helium and his twins were getting luncheon astatine the pupil national during a field circuit erstwhile they heard gunshots.

"It was surreal. And radical conscionable started running," helium said. They packed into a work elevator aft encountering locked doors astatine the extremity of a hallway.

"That was astir apt the scariest constituent due to the fact that we didn't know. It could get worse, right?" helium said. "The doors opened and 2 officers were there, guns drawn."

Florida State's alert strategy announced astir 3 hours aft the shooting that instrumentality enforcement had "neutralized the threat."

Officials asked students and module to debar the pupil national and different areas inactive considered an progressive transgression scene.

Dozens of patrol vehicles, including a forensics van, were parked extracurricular the pupil union.

Officers blocked disconnected the country with transgression country tape. Students and unit who near down phones, keys and different items successful the unreserved to evacuate waited successful the shadiness and prayed for the victims.

President Donald Trump said from the Oval Office that helium had been afloat briefed connected the shooting.

"It's a horrible thing. It's horrible that things similar this instrumentality place," helium said.

After receiving warnings of an progressive shooter, students and module took screen and waited successful classrooms, offices and dorms crossed campus.

"The archetypal happening you deliberation of is just, 'This can't beryllium true,' right?" said Kai McGalla, a sophomore who spoke by telephone portion locked down astatine a field investigating centre.

Junior Joshua Sirmans, 20, was successful the main room erstwhile alarms went off. Law enforcement officers escorted him and different students from the room with their hands implicit their heads, helium said.

Florida State University is 1 of Florida's 12 nationalist universities, with its main field successful Tallahassee.

About 44,000 students are enrolled successful the university, according to the school's 2024 information sheet.

In 2014, the main room was the tract of a shooting that wounded 3 people. Officers changeable and killed the gunman, 31-year-old Myron May.

The assemblage cancelled each classes and events for Thursday arsenic good arsenic all home diversion events done Sunday.