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Police in Tallahassee, Florida said around 300-400 students were in Florida State University's Strozier Library when a gunman opened fire early Thursday morning. The gunman was killed and three students were injured in the shooting.
Florida State University(Photo: Sean Rossman/Democrat)
TALLAHASSEE — Three students were shot early Thursday at Florida State University library before campus police killed the gunman, Tallahassee police said.
Officers confronted the gunman and ordered him to drop his weapon, but he fired at them and they unleashed a volley of shots, Tallahassee Police spokesman Dave Northway said.
Two of the victims were transported to Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, a Level 2 trauma center, police said. One is in critical condition; the other is stable. A third who was grazed by a bullet was treated and released at the scene.
"You never think something like this is going to happen to you until you have to react in that situation when someone is screaming there is a gun in the building. I ran for my life," said Allison Kope, a freshman from Cocoa Beach, Fla. "I ran right out the back door. My laptop and everything is still in there. It was shock. It was just instinct. You don't think about anything else, you just go."
The incident at Strozier Library started shortly around 12:30 a.m. ET. Three hundred to 400 students were inside the campus' main library when the shooter entered with a handgun and opened fire.
"Security is not lacking on campus," campus Chief David Perry said. "This person for whatever reason produced a handgun and started shooting."
University President John Thrasher described the shootings as an isolated incident but also said police did "an extraordinary job taking quick and decisive action to prevent further tragedy." Officials canceled classes Thursday and made counseling available to students and staff.
Daniel Morales, a 19-year-old freshman from Fort Pierce, Fla., said that when he first heard someone say, " 'Somebody's got a gun.' I thought he was joking." But after realizing a gunman was in the library, Morales and others raced to a back room on the second floor where they barricaded a door with desks.
Three freshmen who were in the DeGraff Hall dormitory at the time said they began getting reports from friends locked down in the library.
"We know there are definitely people who saw the shooter," Anthony Coons said.
His friend Max Martin described the surreal scene.
"You hear all these stories on the news, then it happens," Martin said. "This is something you never want to happen."
Nikolai Hernandez, who was in another dorm room nearby, said he heard "consecutive gunshots" that sounded as if they came from an automatic rifle.
"That was confirmed when I went outside and talked to someone who said they say police open fire on a shooter who was armed right on the front steps of the library," the freshman said.
More than 20 emergency vehicles from Tallahassee's police and fire departments, as well as from Leon County Emergency Services, blocked off the area around Landis Green, near the library. Strozier, the campus' main library, is named for a former president of the university and is usually open 24 hours on weekdays.
According to FSView, a Gannett student newspaper, the library was being cleared out by about 3 a.m. Before that, students were on lockdown in Dirac Library and in dorms.
The video below was posted on Facebook by Jessica Davis. An individual can be heard over the intercom saying "There has been a shooting in the library. Stay where you are," and instructing people to call 911 if they have been shot.
Florida State University police issued an alert warning its 40,000 students that read: "Dangerous Situation! Main Campus — Tallahassee. Seek shelter immediately, away from doors and windows."
Social media immediately lit up with messages of concern and prayer requests.
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Contributing: Setareh Baig & Daniella Abinum, FSView; The Associated Press
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