Breaking: FAMU shooting leaves 12 hurt near Bragg Stadium after homecoming

A Saturday-night shooting near Florida A&M University's football stadium injured 12 people, half of them minors, hours after the historically Black university's homecoming game. Police say they have made no arrests and are asking anyone who saw what happened to call them.

The gunfire broke out just before 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 24, near the intersection of Perry and Manatee streets, next to Bragg Memorial Stadium, according to a Tallahassee Police Department news release issued at 11:30 p.m. The department's Violent Crimes Unit has taken over the investigation.

How many people were hurt?

Police count 12 victims. Eleven of them suffered gunshot wounds, TPD said. That's why some news reports lead with "11 shot" and others with "12 injured": both figures come from police and describe the same group of victims.

The 12th person was not shot. Revell said at a news conference shortly after midnight Sunday that she was hurt while running from the scene. He said she is the grandmother of one of the other victims, the Tallahassee Democrat and WCTV reported.

Six victims are adults and six are juveniles, the youngest just 11 years old, according to TPD and Revell. Revell said investigators believe one of the injured is a Florida A&M student. Police have not released any victim's name, and NewsCubby does not identify injured minors.

What is their condition?

On Sunday morning, police said five of the 12 had been treated and released from the hospital, while six remained hospitalized, WCTV and WTXL reported. One of those six was still in critical condition.

No deaths have been reported.

Earlier counts were slightly different because they were taken at different times. TPD's 11:30 p.m. release said at least three of the shooting victims were seriously injured and nine were stable. At the midnight briefing, Revell said three were seriously hurt, including one in critical condition, according to the Tallahassee Democrat, WCTV and NBC News. NewsCubby is using the Sunday-morning figures because they are the most recent.

What do police say happened?

Police haven't explained exactly what led to the shooting. TPD said early findings show a physical altercation took place before shots were fired.

At the briefing, Revell described it as "an isolated incident between two or three individuals," NBC News and the Tallahassee Democrat reported. He said police believe one shooter was involved. He also said no one had been arrested or taken into custody, and that police had no person of interest, WCTV reported.

"Our priority is to determine what happened and why it happened, and to bring the people that are responsible for this to justice," Revell said, according to NBC News.

Police haven't said what kind of weapon was used, how many shots were fired, or whether the people involved in the altercation were among the injured. NewsCubby won't guess at a motive and will report one only if investigators announce it.

How did police respond?

Revell said about two dozen officers were already in the area when the shooting started, and that the whole department was working the busy homecoming weekend, WCTV reported.

In TPD's written statement, Revell said officers carried victims to safety and drove them to the hospital before the scene was fully secure. At the briefing, he said crowds were so dense that some officers picked up victims and carried them in their arms, NBC News reported.

"It is especially heartbreaking to know that children are among those injured," Revell said in the police statement.

A TPD spokesperson told the Tallahassee Democrat at about 9:45 p.m. Saturday that the scene was secure.

What did FAMU and FSU say?

Florida A&M posted an alert Saturday evening about police activity near Bragg Stadium and Perry Street, telling people to avoid the area or shelter in place if they were nearby, WCTV reported.

In a later statement, reported by WTXL and the Tallahassee Democrat, the university said the shooting happened near campus and that the campus "remains safe." FAMU said its hearts go out to the victims and everyone affected. It said it is monitoring the situation, and it asked anyone with information to contact Tallahassee police.

Florida State University, about a mile away, sent an emergency message around 10 p.m. Saturday. It said there was no sign that anyone from FSU was involved, but as a precaution it advised students, faculty and staff in the Tallahassee area to stay indoors that evening, according to NBC News and the Tallahassee Democrat.

Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey called the shooting "a truly horrific and heartbreaking tragedy" in a message to the FAMU community, WCTV reported. "Tonight and in the days ahead, the FAMU family is not alone," he said.

What was happening at FAMU on Saturday?

The shooting happened during FAMU's homecoming weekend, one of the busiest weekends of the year on the Tallahassee campus. Earlier Saturday, the Rattlers hosted Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Bragg Memorial Stadium in front of 20,549 fans, according to FAMU Athletics' official box score.

The game kicked off just after 3 p.m. and ended at about 6:50 p.m., the box score shows, roughly an hour before the shooting. Arkansas-Pine Bluff won 31-28. WCTV reported it was FAMU's first homecoming loss since 2017.

A FAMU student who was near the scene told WCTV that he heard several gunshots, saw a crowd running and was knocked down in the rush. When he got up, he said, he saw a person lying on the ground.

What we know

- **When and where:** just before 8 p.m. ET Saturday, Oct. 24, near Perry and Manatee streets, beside Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee (TPD). - **Victims:** 12 injured. Eleven were shot, and one was hurt fleeing (TPD; Revell). - **Ages:** six adults and six juveniles. The youngest is 11 (TPD; Revell). - **Condition as of Sunday morning:** five released, six hospitalized, one critical. No deaths reported (TPD via WCTV and WTXL). - **What came first:** a physical altercation, according to early findings (TPD). - **Shooter:** police believe one person fired (Revell). - **Arrests:** none, and no person of interest so far (Revell). - **Campus:** FAMU says its campus is safe.

What we don't know yet

- Who fired the shots, and why. - What the altercation was about, and whether those involved were among the injured. - The names and current conditions of individual victims. Police haven't released names, and NewsCubby won't name injured children. - Whether there is any video evidence or more than one weapon. Police haven't said. - Whether FAMU or the city will change security for future large events. Neither has announced any changes.

How to share information with police

TPD is asking anyone who saw the shooting, recorded video or has other information to contact investigators:

- **Tallahassee Police Department:** 850-891-4200 - **Crime Solvers (anonymous):** 850-574-TIPS (850-574-8477)

Police said the investigation is active and that early information may change as detectives gather evidence and interview witnesses.

What happens next

Detectives with TPD's Violent Crimes Unit are still investigating, and police have said they will share more as it becomes available. NewsCubby will update this story if police make an arrest, release new victim information or report a change in anyone's condition.

Figures in this story reflect police statements as reported by WCTV and WTXL, last checked at 10:10 a.m. ET Sunday, Oct. 25.

*Credit: reporting and official statements from the Tallahassee Police Department, the Associated Press, NBC News, the Tallahassee Democrat, WCTV, WTXL, Florida A&M University, Florida State University and FAMU Athletics. NewsCubby articles are AI-assisted and reviewed by people.*