BREAKING: Shooting at FSU Campus (Updated)

There’s no clever way to get into this, so I won’t even bother. There is an active shooting situation going on at Florida State University’s campus in Tallahassee, Florida as I write this.

An active shooter has been reported in the area of Student Union. Police are on scene or on the way. Continue to seek shelter and await further instructions. Lock and stay away from all doors and windows and be prepared to take additional protective measur https://t.co/cBrbt0cLe6

— FSU Alert (@FSUAlert) April 17, 2025

According to NBC News, at least four people have been transported and are being treated at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare.

Students and staff are being told to continue sheltering in place as of this writing. Local police have responded, and the FBI is as well.

A gunman was reported to have been seen near the student union building.

Meanwhile, ABC News is reporting that police have a suspect in custody.

A suspect is in custody, multiple sources told ABC News, adding that the search for possible additional shooters is ongoing.

Police have responding to the scene, which is near the Student Union, according to an FSU Alert, which had advised students to continue to shelter in place due to reports of an active shooter.

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said it’s received patients from FSU, but didn’t specify how many or their injuries.

“It’s too early to understand the extent of the violence, but early reports are very disturbing,” Rep. Neal Dunn, R-Fla., said in a statement. “Shelter in place. Stay Safe. Thank you to our brave first responders for responding to the situation.”

So far, we don’t know the extent of the injuries or much of anything else. As I said, this is a situation that just happened, meaning the details are going to be murky. We’re hearing four people injured, but that number could go up or down. That doesn’t include anyone who might have been pronounced dead at the scene, though I pray there aren’t any.

Governor Ron DeSantis offered up his prayers.

Our prayers are with our FSU family and state law enforcement is actively responding. https://t.co/gT4mDwWsGC

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 17, 2025

For what it’s worth, I’ll continue monitoring this situation as best as I can throughout the day, with either Cam or I hitting a follow-up in the morning.

This is a terrible tragedy that should never happen. I know only too well what those impacted by this incident will be going through in the coming days, weeks, and for far longer. I wish I didn’t, but I do.

Right now, the best anyone can do is pray for any loved ones at FSU they haven’t been able to get hold of right now. They could have simply been locked down away from their phones for some reason. I sincerely pray that’s the case.

Unfortunately, it won’t be for quite everyone. Hopefully, that is limited to the injured, and they can all make a full recovery.

In the meantime, I’m going to be offering up my own prayers as I also mentally get ready for the burning stupid that may well be unleashed as a result of whatever it was that happened today.

(Update: 4/17/2025 1:59 PM): The number of people being treated has increased to six, with one reported as being in critical condition:

Hospital confirms six being treated

1:25 p.m. – Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare spokesperson Stephanie Derzypolski confirmed to the Tallahassee Democrat that they now have received six patients, one in critical condition and the rest in serious condition.

The hospital has “the only Level II trauma center in the Big Bend region,” its website says. A Level II trauma center is “required to have trauma surgeons on-call 24/7.”

It also appears the shooting was centered in the student union building, which is often a pretty crowded place.

In an strange twist…

I typically point out that the odds of being in a mass shooting are pretty rare, no matter how you define it.

Well, one of the people at FSU today was a Parkland survivor.

1:30 p.m. – Students in the College of Business building adjacent to the student union said they heard a teacher run down the hallway alerting them of the shooter in the union.FSU junior Angel Dejesus said his class all hid in a smaller room within the classroom he was in with the doors locked.Dejesus said he was studying for a final exam that he had in an hour trying to drown out the chaos, but it got “much more serious” when a student who lived through the Parkland shooting entered the room.“He was like, ‘Man, I never thought this would happen again,’ “ Dejesus said.

Of course, we don’t know how close he was to the actual shooting in Parkland, nor do we know just how close he really is here. Student unions can be decently sized, so he might not have been close.

That doesn’t mean it didn’t scare his pants off, and it doesn’t mean Dejesus won’t be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life.

(Update 2:37 PM): NBC News reports there has been at least one fatality in this incident.

We do not know if this is one of the six sent to the hospital who later passed away or someone killed and declared dead at the scene.

(Update 2:52 PM): Another NBC News report shares an account from a student who says they saw the shooter.

McKenzie Heeter, a junior at FSU, described seeing the gunman in the campus shooting at FSU this afternoon as she was outside the student union.

“I was leaving the union with my food. There’s a road next to it and I was walking and this guy pulls up in an orange Hummer, and he gets out with a rifle and shoots in my direction. There were a couple other kids near me,” Heeter said. “I think he was shooting and he missed. So he goes back into his car and grabs a pistol, then he turns and shoots the lady in front of him. That’s when I just started running.”

Heeter said she heard about 15 rounds fired for about 20 to 30 seconds. She said she then called the police at 11:57 p.m. to report the shooting. 

She described the shooter as a “normal college dude” who was wearing an orange T-shirt and khaki shorts. She described him as white with light hair.

At first Heeter said she thought he brought out a BB gun, but when she heard him fire it she knew it was real. 

“When he turned back around with the pistol, I saw him shoot the lady like right in front of him. She was probably like 5 feet in front of him with the pistol,” Heeter said. She said the woman was in purple scrubs and didn’t appear to be a student or faculty.

It should be noted that other reports claim police were looking for a shotgun. It’s entirely possible that Heeter was unclear as to what she was seeing. It’s also possible that the other witness misheard or misunderstood what she was told. It could be something else entirely.

(Update 4:33 PM): It looks like the suspect in this incident had a shotgun and a handgun.

The suspect in custody in connection with the FSU shooting used a shotgun and a handgun, FOX News reported on live television Thursday.

A law enforcement source indicated the shooter first shot with the shotgun, then switched to the handgun, FOX News noted.

CNN reported that the suspect had a handgun on his person when apprehended. They noted that the shotgun was found in the FSU student union.

(Update 4:39 PM): According to NBC News, two people were killed five others were hospitalized.

The sixth that was reported as taken to the hospital was the alleged shooter