Shooting near Florida A&M stadium injures 12, including six children, after homecoming game

A shooting near Florida A&M University's Bragg Memorial Stadium on Saturday night left 12 people injured, including six children, hours after the historically Black university's homecoming football game, according to a statement from the Tallahassee Police Department. No arrests had been made by Sunday morning, and investigators had not identified a suspect.

Officers responded just before 8 p.m. to the area of Perry and Manatee streets, a few blocks from the stadium, after reports of gunfire, the department said. Eleven of the 12 people hurt suffered gunshot wounds; the twelfth was injured while running from the scene. Police said six victims were adults and six were juveniles, with the youngest reported to be 11 years old. The department's overnight statement said at least three victims had serious injuries, with the remaining nine described as stable. Local broadcaster WCTV reported Sunday morning that five of the injured had already been released from the hospital, while six remained hospitalized, including one in critical condition.

A homecoming tradition disrupted

Florida A&M University, a public historically Black university in Tallahassee, had hosted the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff for its annual homecoming game that afternoon. The game began at 3 p.m. and ended around 6 p.m., and the shooting happened roughly two hours later, after much of the stadium crowd had dispersed into the surrounding neighborhood, a common gathering area during homecoming week. Police said early findings indicated the gunfire followed a physical altercation involving two or three people, though they said it remained unclear what triggered it.

Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell told reporters at a press conference shortly after midnight that detectives currently believe the shooting was an isolated incident rather than a targeted or coordinated attack, though the investigation was in its early stages. No motive had been established.

Officers already on scene credited with saving lives

Because of the scale of homecoming weekend, the department had roughly two dozen additional officers already stationed in the area when the shooting began, officials said, which allowed a fast response. Revell said some officers carried wounded victims directly to patrol cars and drove them to the hospital rather than waiting for ambulances.

"Tonight, our thoughts are with the victims and their families as they face the devastating impact of this violence," Chief Revell said.

Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey called the shooting a "truly horrific and heartbreaking tragedy" and said the city stood with the FAMU community. FAMU, whose campus police department maintains its own emergency-alert system, urged people to avoid the area overnight and said the main campus itself remained safe, after initially advising students nearby to shelter in place. A FAMU student who witnessed the shooting, Jayden Dubois, told WCTV he heard gunfire, was jostled by people running from the scene, and then saw someone lying on the ground.

No suspect identified as investigation continues

The Tallahassee Police Department's Violent Crimes Unit has taken over the case, and officials said the investigation remains active. As of Sunday morning, authorities had released no description of a shooter or shooters and had not announced any arrests. The department asked anyone with information, including anyone who witnessed the shooting or has video from the area, to come forward, and said tips could be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers.

The shooting is likely to prompt scrutiny of security arrangements for FAMU's homecoming, one of the largest annual gatherings in Tallahassee, drawing alumni and visitors from around the country to a city whose population swells considerably for the week's events. It is also likely to renew attention on gun violence affecting children specifically, given that half of Saturday's victims were minors.