Campus secure, suspect in custody after at least 6 wounded in Florida State University shooting

Ana Ceballos and Milena Malaver, Miami Herald on Apr 17, 2025

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — One person is in custody and at least six people are wounded after a shooting erupted Thursday at Florida State University.

Police swarmed the university’s Tallahassee campus with guns drawn around noon, responding to reports of gunfire near the student union. A video recorded from behind bushes and shared with the Herald by an FSU student showed an armed person striding calmly on the sidewalk, squaring up and taking three shots as people ran and screamed.

Students hid in classrooms and in the library. Near the shooting location, laptops, towels, backpacks and bottles of water were scattered in a grassy area, abandoned in a moment of panic.

“Everyone was running,” said 19-year-old freshman Raiden Paniagua, who was eating Chick-fil-A in on a campus lawn when the mayhem began. “I was so scared.”

By 3:17 p.m., Tallahassee Police said they’d secured the campus, but were continuing to treat the student union and surrounding area as a crime scene. Police spokeswoman Alicia Hill told the Miami Herald that one person is in custody.

Six people were being treated at the hospital for injuries, according to a Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare spokeswoman. Five were in serious condition, she said. One person was in critical condition.

Police confirmed that there are multiple victims, but could not give an exact number.

Tallahassee Police said a student reunification center had been set up at the The Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. Officers continued to search the campus, clearing rooms, using the word “Seminole” to let students know that it was safe to come out from hiding.

Classes for the rest of the week were canceled.

“It’s horrible that things like this take place,” said President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters Thursday from the Oval Office.

‘Everyone’s angry’

Reports of a shooting on campus first emerged at 12:02 p.m. over the school’s emergency alert system.

“Continue to seek shelter and await further instructions,” the university told students. “Lock and stay away from all doors and windows and be prepared to take additional protective measures.”

Local and state police rushed to the scene, as well as agents from the FBI’s Jacksonville office.

“Our prayers are with our FSU family and state law enforcement is actively responding,” Gov. Ron DeSantis posted to X.

Videos posted to social media shortly after the shooting was first reported showed students walking with their hands raised, and officers running with guns drawn. Later, videos showed police calmly directing students about where they could and couldn’t go on campus.

Among them was FSU student Victor Alonso, 19, who was in his government class inside the HCB Classroom Building next to the student union when his phone lit up with alerts.

He read the message: an active shooter was on campus. “There’s no way,” he thought.

Moments later, panic broke out in his classroom. Alonso and other students scrambled to barricade the doors. He heard gunshots, followed by helicopters circling overhead.

Officers soon arrived at the door, shouting commands. “They made us go down the hall with our hands up,” Alonso told the Herald in an interview from his dorm room.

He said law enforcement kept relocating them across campus.

“They ended up evacuating us like four or five times to different buildings,” he said.

At one point, he sheltered in what he described as an AC repair unit, later huddling in a courtyard. He was finally allowed to return to his dorm about two hours after the initial alert.

“Everyone’s angry,” Alonso said. “I just don’t know how this can happen — it’s disgusting.”

Raeleen McDaniel, 26, was in a classroom watching a video about Korean history when she heard the gunshots.

“At first we thought it was the video, but then we realized it was real shots,” McDaniel said in an interview with the Herald.

McDaniel recalled seeing students running in the hallway and dropping down to the floor. Her classroom was located near the student union.

“People go there to study,” she said, visibly distraught as a friend comforted her. About two hours had passed since the shooting had been reported, and what had occurred was still sinking in.

“I knew that a shooting was something that was possible because it is so common, but I never thought it would happen to us,” she said.

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(Miami Herald editor David Smiley contributed to this report.)

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