Two killed in Florida university shooting

A gunman has opened fire at Florida State University, killing two people and wounding at least six others

A gunman opened fire at a Florida university, killing two people and wounding at least six others, police said.

The alleged gunman is the 20-year-old son of a sheriff’s deputy whose former service weapon was used in the shooting, authorities said.

The two people who died were not students at the university, but the shooter is believed to be a student, said Florida State University police chief Jason Trumbower.

Five people were being treated at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, Mr Trumbower said, and the alleged shooter is also receiving medical attention.

Mr Trumbower said the alleged shooter opened fire at about 11.50am on Thursday, shooting individuals around the student union building.

Tallahassee Memorial Hospital has confirmed it is treating six patients, one of them in critical condition.

Mr Trumbower said authorities would not be releasing information about the victims, including whether they were students.

But he did confirm the two people who were killed were not students at the university.

Leon County Sheriff Walter McNeil revealed the alleged shooter’s identity and his relation to deputy Jessica Ikner, who has been with the sheriff’s office for over 18 years.

Mr McNeil says the alleged shooter was a long-standing member of the sheriff’s office’s youth advisory council and engaged in a number of training programmes with the office.

“This is obviously a heinous crime,” Mr McNeil said.

“We will make sure that we do everything we can to prosecute and make sure that we send a message to folks that this will never be tolerated here in Leon County, and I dare say across the state and across this nation.”

Asked about shooting, US President Donald Trump said “it’s a shame”, adding that he knew the school and the area “very well”.

But Mr Trump suggested that he would not be advocating for any new gun legislation, saying, “the gun doesn’t do the shooting, the people do”.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Mr Trump called himself a “big advocate” of the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms.

“I have an obligation to protect the Second Amendment,” he said.

Florida State University is cancelling classes on Friday, which is two weeks before the university’s scheduled commencement ceremony for graduates from May 2 to 3.

The university’s official finals week per its academic calendar are scheduled to start April 28.

FSU’s alert system announced shortly after 3pm that law enforcement had “neutralised the threat”.

Officials are asking students and faculty to avoid the student union and several other areas that are still considered an active crime scene.

People are otherwise free to move about the campus.

Jake Nair, a senior student at the university, was studying in the library when a police officer dashed out of the building, yelling for everyone to stay in place.

“He ran outside with his gun out,” Mr Nair said. “Not all the students heard him, and some of them ran out the back of the library.”

Mr Nair said an alarm in the library then went off and a recorded message warned students to shelter in place because of an active shooter on campus.

Then about five officers came into the library and escorted the students out with their hands up.

“I think they just wanted to make sure none of us had a weapon on us,” Mr Nair said. “To be honest, it was a bit of a surreal moment. It’s the kind of thing you only see on the news.”

An office employee for the Leon County Medical Examiner’s office declined to release information on whether any deaths had been reported to their office at this time, noting that the investigation is still ongoing.

Chris Pento told Tallahassee TV station WCTV that he was on campus Thursday for a tour with his twins and that they were inside the student union getting lunch when they heard gunshots.

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

Mr Pento said he and several others crammed into a service elevator after first 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.”

He said the officers asked if they had seen anything and then pointed them to safety.

Published: 17/04/2025 by Radio NewsHub