12 hurt, including six juveniles, in shooting near FAMU's Bragg Memorial Stadium after homecoming game

Twelve people were hurt, 11 of them by gunfire, when shots rang out near Florida A&M University's Bragg Memorial Stadium on Saturday night as crowds lingered after the school's homecoming football game, Tallahassee police said. Six of the victims are juveniles, the youngest 11 years old, and one is a FAMU student.

The shooting happened just before 8 p.m. Oct. 24 near the intersection of Perry and Manatee streets in South Tallahassee, close to the stadium. Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell said preliminary information points to an altercation between a small number of people before the gunfire. As of Sunday, police had announced no arrests and had not publicly identified a suspect.

What police have said

Revell told reporters Saturday night that 11 people suffered gunshot wounds. Three were seriously injured, one of them critically, and eight were in stable condition. At a midnight update, he said the total number of injured had reached at least 12: six adults and six juveniles. The twelfth person, whom the chief described as the grandmother of one of the victims, was hurt while fleeing and was not shot, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.

By Sunday morning, five victims had been released from the hospital and six remained hospitalized, one still in critical condition, police said in an update reported by WTXL. Police have not released the names of any of the victims.

Revell said investigators believe the shooting grew out of a dispute, describing it as an "isolated incident between two or three individuals." Police have not said what the argument was about, whether any of the people involved in it were among the wounded, or how many guns were fired. Police believe one gunman was responsible, the Tallahassee Democrat reported. The department's Violent Crimes Unit is leading the investigation and working to identify those responsible.

"Tonight, our thoughts are with the victims and their families as they face the devastating impact of this violence," Revell said, adding: "It is especially heartbreaking to know that children are among those injured."

The chief praised the "heroic efforts" of responding officers, who he said put their own safety at risk to carry victims to safety and to hospitals before the scene was fully secured. With crowds blocking their path, officers were "picking victims and carrying them in their arms," Revell said. Videos from the scene showed officers using flashlights to tend to victims on the ground and carrying one person through a parking lot on a makeshift stretcher, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. Police said at 9:45 p.m. that the scene was secure.

Panic in the crowd

Video from the area showed people running from the gunfire and police struggling to control a large crowd of bystanders. A food vendor told the Tallahassee Democrat that the "wave of people" running from the shots shook the vendor's food truck. A parent told the newspaper her 14-year-old was hurt and trampled while running away.

"Everybody ran," one witness told the newspaper.

Timeline of the night

The game was scheduled to kick off at 3 p.m., and the shooting came after it ended, while homecoming crowds were still in the streets around the stadium. Police and university alerts followed over the next several hours.

FAMU and FSU respond

At about 8:40 p.m., FAMU sent an alert warning of police activity near Bragg Stadium and Perry Street and telling people to avoid the area or shelter in place if nearby, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. Later posts asked people to stay away while officers investigated. The university said on social media that the shooting happened near campus and that the campus remained safe.

"Our hearts go out to the victims and all those affected by this tragic incident," the university said.

Florida State University, across town, issued its own advisory around 10 p.m. telling students, faculty and staff in the Tallahassee area to remain indoors and stay alert. FSU said the message was a precaution and that there was no indication any members of its community were involved, WTXL reported.

Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey called the shooting "a truly horrific and heartbreaking tragedy" and said, "Our entire community stands with you."

A homecoming weekend turned violent

Homecoming is the biggest weekend of the year at FAMU, Florida's only public historically Black university, drawing alumni, families and visitors from across the state and beyond for a parade, tailgates and the football game. The official box score listed attendance of 20,549 at Bragg Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

On the field, Arkansas-Pine Bluff beat the Rattlers 31-28, the first homecoming loss for FAMU since 2017, according to HBCU Gameday. FAMU's Armond Parker accounted for 376 yards of total offense and three touchdowns in the loss, while the Golden Lions pulled ahead with back-to-back third-quarter touchdowns. FAMU came into the Southwestern Athletic Conference matchup at 2-5 overall.

Police have not said whether the people involved in the altercation had attended the game or had any connection to the university, beyond the one FAMU student among the injured.

With 12 people hurt, the shooting appeared to carry the highest victim toll of any in Tallahassee's recent history, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. The city's college community has been shaken by gun violence before: on Oct. 30, 2022, one person was killed and eight were injured in a shooting on West Pensacola Street near Florida State's campus, and on April 17, 2025, two people were killed and six injured in the shooting at FSU's Student Union, a case whose accused gunman faces a murder trial set for June 2027, the newspaper reported. Saturday's shooting happened off campus, on city streets just outside FAMU's football stadium.

Saturday's case is separate from earlier shootings on or near FAMU's campus, including a past case at basketball courts near the university's Hansel Tookes recreation center in which arrests were made. As of Sunday, Tallahassee police had made no arrests in the homecoming shooting.

What's next

The Violent Crimes Unit is continuing to work to identify the people responsible, and police are asking anyone who was near Perry and Manatee streets Saturday night and saw what happened to come forward. Key open questions include whether anyone will be charged, what the altercation was about and how the critically injured victim is recovering.

Anyone with information can call the Tallahassee Police Department at 850-891-4200. Tipsters who want to remain anonymous can call Crime Solvers at 850-574-TIPS (8477).