Several people are hospitalized with injuries after an active shooter was reported on the Florida State University campus in Tallahassee Thursday.
CBS News Miami reports a suspect is in custody after being shot in an exchange of gunfire with police.
Police responded to an active shooter call from the area of the student union around 12:01 p.m., FSU said. The school sent an alert warning those on campus to “seek shelter and await further instructions.” The university also cautioned students to lock and stay away from all doors and windows.
Six people are being treated at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Hospital, a hospital spokesperson confirmed to CBS News Miami. The hospital said one is in critical condition and the others in serious condition.
“We remain in close coordination with emergency responders and public safety officials. Out of respect for patient privacy and to ensure accurate information, we will provide updates as soon as they are available,” Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said in a statement.
Ava Arenado, an FSU student who was in class when the university alert went out, described a terrifying scene.
“One of my classmates got an alert on her phone and announced it to the rest of the class,” Arenado told CBS News Miami. “My teacher immediately started barricading the door… and then another student said she’d rather go home, so we all just kind of ran to our cars.”
FSU student Blake Leonard told CBS News Miami he heard a total of about 30 shots fired. Leonard said he was about 400 feet from the student union when he heard gunfire and started running.
“I heard about 12 shots go off. In my head I thought it was construction at first, until I looked behind me and saw people running from the union towards my direction, and then I heard another 12 or 15 shots go off, so I started running away from there too,” he said.
Kate Payne / AP 
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said state law enforcement was responding to the shooting. “Our prayers are with our FSU family,” DeSantis tweeted.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said in a statement that it is “actively engaged in the incident on FSU’s campus, and we will update the public with more information as soon as possible.”
The FBI said Jacksonville and Tallahassee resident agencies are on the scene and assisting local law enforcement partners. ATF Tampa also said they were on the scene and assisting local police enforcement.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump has been briefed on the shooting and the White House is actively monitoring the situation. Mr. Trump made brief remarks about it Thursday afternoon.
“It’s a shame. It’s a horrible thing. Horrible thing. Things like this take place. And we’ll have more to say about it later,” Mr. Trump said.
The university advised students to continue to shelter in place and classes and all events were canceled for the remainder of the day.
Thursday’s incident was not the first time there was a shooting at the school. Three people were shot in the university’s library in 2014, before the gunman, a former student, was shot by police.
So far in 2025, there have been 80 mass shootings in the U.S., including the most recent incident at Florida State University, according to the Gun Violence Archive. That’s a little more than five incidents per week. In all of 2024, there were 502 incidents, which is a little less than 10 incidents per week.
The Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as an incident where four or more people are shot or killed, not including the shooter.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
