Shooting Near FAMU Bragg Stadium After Homecoming Game, Police Confirm Victims

Tallahassee police confirmed there were victims in a shooting on Perry Street near Bragg Memorial Stadium on Saturday night, a few hours after Florida A&M University played its homecoming football game. Officers said the scene was secure by 9:45 p.m., but they had not released the number of victims or how badly anyone was hurt.

Florida A&M posted its first alert at about 8:40 p.m. It told people near Bragg Stadium and Perry Street to avoid the area or shelter in place if they were nearby. The university posted again at about 10 p.m. and said police were investigating a shooting on Perry Street, that the number of victims and the extent of injuries were unknown, and that people should stay away while officers worked.

Florida State University, across town, issued its own alert at 10 p.m. FSU said it was aware of reports of an off-campus shooting near Bragg Stadium, that there was no indication any member of the FSU community was involved, and that students, faculty and staff in Tallahassee should stay indoors for the evening as a precaution and stay alert.

What police have said, and what they have not

Alicia Hill of the Tallahassee Police Department told the Tallahassee Democrat at 9:45 p.m. that the scene was secure. She did not have information on the number of victims or the extent of injuries, and she could not say exactly where on Perry Street the gunfire happened. The department's online crime map lists an 8:02 p.m. call to assist other agencies at Perry and Manatee Streets, an intersection next to Bragg Stadium.

FOX 35 Orlando, reporting the same police account, said the shooting happened along Perry Street on Saturday, that it was not known how many victims were struck or how severe their injuries were, and that police had not said what led to the shooting. Officers also had not said whether the shooting was connected to the university or to homecoming events.

A video shared on Facebook and viewed about 30,000 times showed police carrying a victim through a parking lot on a cloth stretcher, the Democrat reported. That footage has not been matched to a police statement about any single victim's condition.

Why the timing matters

Homecoming is one of the biggest weekends of the year at Florida A&M. Thousands of alumni and visitors were in Tallahassee for the game and the events around it, and Bragg Stadium sits in a residential area south of downtown. A shooting on the streets around the stadium on that night puts police, the university and the city under pressure to explain how the area was policed after the game.

For now the public record is thin. Police have confirmed victims and a secure scene. They have not named a suspect, announced an arrest, or given a motive. The next facts that matter are a victim count, conditions from the hospital, and whether anyone has been detained.

What happens next

Tallahassee police are investigating and both universities told their communities to expect more information as it becomes available. Anyone who was near Perry Street on Saturday night and saw the shooting will be of interest to investigators. This story will be updated in place when police release the victim count and injuries.