A shooting near Florida A&M's stadium left 12 people hurt, including six children as young as 11, after a fight during homecoming, with no arrests yet.
Gunfire erupted Saturday evening just outside Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee after a physical altercation near the intersection of Perry and Manatee streets, police said. At least 11 of the 12 people hurt took gunshot wounds. One woman, a grandmother of someone struck in the melee, hurt herself while running from the scene.
ABC News reported that six of those injured were adults and six were juveniles. The youngest was 11 years old. The shooting took place near Florida A&M University's campus during homecoming weekend, not on campus itself.
Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell laid out the early toll at a late-night press conference.
"We know our youngest victim is 11 years old. At least three of our victims have sustained serious injuries and one of those is in critical condition. Eight of those are reported to be in stable condition."
By Sunday morning, the picture had shifted only a little. Six people remained in the hospital, one still critical. Five had been released. No arrests had been announced.
Fox News reported the shooting happened just before 8 p.m., after a physical clash involving two or three people near the stadium. Police described the episode as an isolated incident. Officers moved in quickly to help the wounded while the university said the campus itself remained safe.
Breitbart noted the preliminary investigation pointed to a fight that broke out in a crowded area after a football game before shots were fired. Chief Revell told reporters no one was in custody.
That sequence matters. A street fight near a packed homecoming crowd left children among the wounded. An 11-year-old does not start an altercation outside a college stadium and walk into a hail of bullets by accident. Adults who bring guns into a public dispute put every bystander at risk.
Revell made clear what police still needed.
"We know there are people who saw something, heard something or may have video that could help us piece together exactly what happened."
He pressed the point again: no detail is too small, and no piece of information should go unreported. Anyone with photos, video, or a tip was asked to contact detectives. The chief said that information could be the key to holding those responsible accountable.
Florida A&M University President Marva B. Johnson released a video statement Sunday afternoon. She said the shooting did not happen on campus, but she did not say whether any injured people were FAMU students or staff.
"To our Rattler family and our surrounding Tallahassee community, I share your outrage and profound sadness at the senseless and despicable shooting that took place near our FAMU campus last night."
Johnson called it an "evil act" and said a "horrific act of violence like this is traumatizing for our students, whether you were near the event or not." The school offered free counseling and care to members of the university community hurt in the incident.
Campus safety messaging and counseling are necessary after a night like that. They do not replace the harder work of identifying who opened fire and putting them in handcuffs. As of Sunday morning, that work was still unfinished.
Revell’s Sunday statement set the standard police should meet.
"We will determine what happened, identify those responsible, and get answers for all of the victims, their families and everyone impacted by this tragedy."
Six adults. Six children. Eleven gunshot wounds. One grandmother injured while fleeing. A fight outside a football stadium during homecoming week. Those are the facts on the record so far. What remains missing is the simplest measure of accountability: an arrest.
Crowded college weekends and post-game streets draw families and kids. When an altercation turns into gunfire in that setting, the people who live with the damage are not abstract. They are 11-year-olds in hospital beds and parents waiting for news.
Tallahassee police have asked the public for video and tips. That request only works if witnesses step forward and if investigators move fast enough to turn those leads into charges. Children caught in adult gunfire deserve more than statements of sadness. They deserve names, arrests, and a courtroom.
A city that cannot keep kids safe outside a homecoming stadium has a law-and-order problem that soft words will not fix.
