Three Wounded, Suspected Gunman Dead After Shooting on FSU Campus
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iStock/Thinkstock(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — Three students were wounded in a shooting on Florida State University’s campus in Tallahassee, police said, and the suspected gunman was shot and killed by officers.
The shooting happened early Thursday morning at the university’s Stozier Library, which was packed at the time with hundreds of students studying for exams.
An officer responding to the scene fatally wounded the suspected gunman after he fired at police, Tallahassee Police Department public information officer David Northway said at an early morning press conference.
Two of the victims were taken to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, with one listed in critical condition, the other in stable condition. The third victim received a graze wound, police said.
The university said on its Twitter account that it would remain open Thursday, but it would not hold classes.
The university sent an emergency alert to students, classifying the incident as a “dangerous situation” and telling students to seek shelter.
University President John Thrasher released a statement following the Thursday morning shooting.
“The Florida State University community is extremely saddened by the shootings that took place early this morning at Strozier Library, in the very heart of campus, and our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of all those who have been affected,” Thrasher said in the statement.
“The three students who have been injured are our highest priority followed by the needs of our greater university community. We will do everything possible to assist with their recovery.”
The shooting was an “isolated incident,” Thrasher said.
Toni Haywood, a junior, says she was on the second floor of the library at about 12:30 a.m., when she says she heard gunshots.
Minutes later, people on the first floor ran upstairs, telling students to hide, Haywood said.
“The police came on the intercom and said that there was a gunman in the lobby, and I think he said two people had been shot,” Haywood told ABC News in a text message. “He said to stay away from doors and windows and to stay where we were. We all waited then the police came back on and said the gunman was in custody and to stay where we were.”
Haywood and other students remained hunkered down an hour later, waiting as police cleared the floors of the library.
Junior Guillermo Page described the scene as “total chaos.”
“A kid who was up with me [in the library] told me he had walked past the shooter,” Page told ABC News. “He said he was a six-foot-tall man with a red sweater and that he saw him walk right by him and saw him pull out his gun, and that’s when he ran upstairs.”
The campus will remain open Thursday, but classes are canceled, university officials said.
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