Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) officers were scheduled for a training session on Thursday afternoon as the first alerts involving a Florida State University (FSU) active shooter spread across social media.
Newsweek reached out to the city of Tallahassee via online form for comment Thursday afternoon.
Why It Matters
At least six people have been hospitalized in the shooting and one is in critical condition, the Associated Press reports, and a suspect is in custody.
FSU is among the largest universities in the U.S., with its campus in Tallahassee, capital of the Sunshine State. In 2014, the school was rocked by a shooting at the main library. The gunman, Myron May, was a 31-year-old FSU alumnus and former attorney who at the time had been experiencing mental health issues.
May shot and injured three people, one critically, before being shot dead by campus police after refusing to drop his weapon.
What To Know
In a post to Facebook at 10:10 a.m. ET Thursday, TPD alerted the community of the training planned for the Tactical Apprehension and Control Team.
“During this training session, you may hear loud bangs, crashes, sirens, and see officers with firearms displayed,” the post said in part. The training was scheduled for noon to 8 p.m. ET near 3000 South Adams Street.
The first alert from FSU’s account on X, formerly Twitter, about the active shooter call was posted at 12:02 p.m. ET. The training site was roughly three miles from the school.
The first alert posted by FSU online read, “An active shooter has been reported in the area of Student Union. Police are on scene or on the way. Continue to seek shelter and await further instructions. Lock and stay away from all doors and windows and be prepared to take additional protective measures.” The alert has a time-stamp of 12:01 p.m. ET.
Some users on social media pointed out the scheduled police training time and the proximity of the first alert by FSU.
X account Camrons Justice posted a video noting the “confusion.”
X account @Aesthetica, with nearly 500,000 followers, also noted the training and added in part, “At first students didn’t realize it was a real shooting.”
The suspect’s name and details surrounding potential motives were unknown at the time of publication. It is also unknown to Newsweek if the timing of the training and the active shooting are at all related.
Kate Payne/AP
What People Are Saying
Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) posted to X on Thursday: “FDLE is actively engaged in the incident on FSU’s campus, and we will update the public with more information as soon as possible.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis posted to X on Thursday: “Our prayers are with our FSU family and state law enforcement is actively responding.”
TPD posted to Facebook on Thursday: “The Florida State University campus has been secured. Multiple law enforcement agencies remain on site for the ongoing investigation. The Student Union and the surrounding area are still considered an active crime scene. Individuals should not return to the area for any reason. Busing is underway to help students reach the reunification point at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. A briefing is tentatively set for 4:30 p.m., which will air live here on TPD’s Facebook page.”
Parkland father Fred Guttenberg posted to X on Thursday: “America is broken. My daughter Jaime was murdered in the Parkland school shooting. Many of her friends who were lucky enough to survive that shooting went on to attend FSU. Incredibly, some of them were just a part of their 2nd school shooting and some were in the student union today. As a father, all I ever wanted after the Parkland shooting was to help our children be safe. Sadly, because of the many people who refuse to do the right things about reducing gun violence, I am not surprised by what happened today.”
What Happens Next
A news conference is scheduled in the afternoon to provide an update on the shooting.