Students at Florida State University were rattled late Wednesday evening as a gunman opened fire at the campus library, wounding three people, the Washington Post reports.
Alerts were sent out to students after midnight to take shelter when a gunman shot two students inside the Strozier Library with another student shot outside of the library. An estimated 400 students were in the library during the shooting.
Police were able to catch the gunman outside of the library. Tallahassee’s police chief, Michael DeLeo informed reporters the gunman shot at the police causing them to return fire, killing the gunman. DeLeo also stated that the suspect worked alone in the incident.
By 4 a.m. Thursday, the all clear message was issued for the school, where classes were canceled Thursday and police continued with interviews and investigations. The gunman slumped face down, the Associated Press reported. A gray baseball cap lay near his head.
Tallahassee’s police chief, Michael DeLeo, described it as an “isolated incident and one person acting alone.” But he offered no additional details of the gunman or possible motives during a predawn news conference.
The conditions of the students remain in critical condition, with one student shot in the leg.
Students took to Twitter and Instagram, posting photos and videos from the inside the library. One student sent a text to her father that was shared all over social media.
Rattled tonight by text and call from daughter at #FSU while in library during shooting. Praying for all involved. pic.twitter.com/NnDS1lbfVi
— David Sillick (@jbjpublisher) November 20, 2014
Video was also recorded after the shooting in the library as students barricaded themselves inside.
FSU President John Thrasher released a statement on the shooting and informed students and administration that all classes will be canceled for today.
Message from #FSU Pres. John Thrasher: pic.twitter.com/EvN5Cwpsrv
— Florida State Univ. (@floridastate) November 20, 2014
Students were escorted out of the building with their hands up. Matthew Paskert, photo editor at the university’s newspaper.
“It was the most cops I’ve ever seen in my life,” Matthew Paskert, photo editor of the student newspaper, told CNN. “It seemed to take students and faculty at least that I’ve heard by complete surprise,” Paskert told The Washington Post. “No one expected this to ever happen here. You see it happen at other schools.”
The idenitiy of the gunman is currently unknown as police try to decipher the cause of the shooting.
SOURCE: Washington Post
