2 people were killed and at least 5 wounded in Florida State shooting

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida State University Police Chief Jason Trumbower says two people were killed and at least five wounded in shooting at Florida State University.

The two deaths are not students at the university, but the shooter is believed to be a student. Five people are being treated at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, and the shooter is also receiving medical attention.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Multiple victims were reported in a shooting Thursday at Florida State University and a suspect was taken into police custody, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

Students and frightened parents hid in a bowling alley and crammed into a freight elevator inside the student union after hearing gunshots outside the building.

The extent of the victims’ injuries was not immediately known and there were no additional details about the person in custody, according to the person was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

At least six people were being treated, including one person who was in critical condition, a spokesperson for Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said. The other patients were in serious condition, according to the spokesperson.

Authorities had not yet released details about the suspect or how the shooting unfolded.

Ambulances, fire trucks and patrol vehicles from multiple law enforcement agencies raced toward the campus just west of Florida’s capital after the university issued an active shooter alert midday Thursday, saying police were responding near the student union.

Ryan Cedergren, a 21-year-old communications student, said he and about 30 others hid in the bowling alley in the union’s lower level after seeing students running from a nearby bar.

“In that moment, it was survival,” he said.

After about 15 minutes, university police escorted the students out of the building and he saw a person getting emergency treatment on the lawn, he said.

Chris Pento told WCTV in Tallahassee that he and his twins were getting lunch at the student union during a campus tour when they heard gunshots.

“It was surreal. And people just started running,” he told the TV station.

They packed into a service elevator after encountering locked doors at the end of a hallway. “That was probably the scariest point because we didn’t know. It could get worse, right?” he said. “The doors opened and two officers were there, guns drawn.”

Florida State’s alert system announced about three hours after the shooting that law enforcement had “neutralized the threat.” Officials asked students and faculty to avoid the student union and other areas still considered an active crime scene.

Dozens of patrol vehicles, including a forensics van, were parked outside the student union. Officers blocked off the area with crime scene tape.

Students and staff who left behind phones, keys and other items in the rush to evacuate waited in the shade and prayed for the victims.

President Donald Trump said from the Oval Office that he had been fully briefed on the shooting. “It’s a horrible thing. It’s horrible that things like this take place,” he said.

After receiving warnings of an active shooter, students and faculty took cover and waited in classrooms, offices and dorms across campus.

The first thing you think of is just, ‘This can’t be true,’ right?” said Kai McGalla, a sophomore who spoke by phone while locked down at a campus testing center.

Junior Joshua Sirmans, 20, was in the main library when alarms went off. Law enforcement officers escorted him and other students from the library with their hands over their heads, he said.

Florida State University is one of Florida’s 12 public universities, with its main campus in Tallahassee. About 44,000 students are enrolled in the university, per the school’s 2024 fact sheet.

In 2014, the main library was the site of a shooting that wounded three people. Officers shot and killed the gunman, 31-year-old Myron May.

The university canceled all classes and events for Thursday. It also canceled home athletic events through Sunday.

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This story has been updated to correct Trump’s quote.

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Fischer reported from Fort Lauderdale. Associated Press reporters Stephany Matat in West Palm Beach, Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Michael Schneider in Orlando, Mike Balsamo in New York, Eric Tucker and Christopher Megerian in Washington, and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.