The FAMU homecoming shooting left 12 people injured near Bragg Memorial Stadium on Saturday night. Six of them were children. The youngest was 11. No one died, Tallahassee police said, and as of Sunday afternoon police had arrested no one. Hospitals have released five victims, while six remain hospitalized and one is in critical condition, Fox News reported. This is a developing HBCU news story.
What Police Have Confirmed About the FAMU Homecoming Shooting
Homecoming is one of the busiest weekends of the year in Tallahassee, per HBCU Gameday, and Perry Street was packed. A video taken earlier in the day, cited by the Tallahassee Democrat, showed massive crowds walking along it. FAMU hosted Arkansas-Pine Bluff for homecoming at Bragg Memorial Stadium. The game kicked off at 3 p.m. and wrapped around 6 p.m. with a 31-28 loss for the Rattlers, per WCTV. About two hours later, just before 8 p.m., gunfire erupted on Perry Street near Manatee Street, within walking distance of the stadium at Florida A&M University.
Police Chief Lawrence Revell said six adults and six juveniles were hurt. Eleven people were shot. The twelfth victim, a grandmother of one of the gunshot victims, got hurt while running from the scene. Revell said he believes one of the victims is a FAMU student. Officers nearby responded quickly, helped victims, and drove some of them to hospitals, HBCU Sports reported. The game had been a sellout, and police said the shooting broke out in a crowded area after a fight, according to USA Today’s coverage with the Tallahassee Democrat.
Victim Conditions
Shortly after midnight, Revell told reporters that three victims had serious injuries, one of them critical, and that the rest were stable. By Sunday morning, TPD said five victims had left the hospital. Six remained hospitalized, and one was still in critical condition.
Police haven’t released any names. HBCU Buzz isn’t naming anyone who hasn’t been publicly identified. Those updates cover 11 of the 12 people, and police haven’t given a separate status for the twelfth.
The Investigation and How to Help
Preliminary information points to a physical altercation involving two or three people before the shooting, Revell said. Police haven’t named a suspect or a person of interest, and a motive isn’t known. TPD’s Violent Crimes Unit worked through the night on digital evidence, WCTV reported, and officers returned to Perry Street Sunday to collect evidence and search the area.
Revell made a direct appeal. “No detail is too small,” he said. Tips can go to TPD’s dedicated hotline at 850-891-4610, or to Crime Solvers at 850-574-TIPS for anonymous reports. TPD also opened an online evidence portal where people can upload photos and videos from Perry Street.
FAMU and Community Response
Perry and Manatee streets are an area vendors commonly use during homecoming, WCTV reported. One vendor who helps run HBCU Culture Shop said she heard multiple gunshots. Vendors now question whether they’ll come back next year.
FAMU sent a campus alert at about 8:40 p.m. telling people near Bragg Stadium and Perry Street to avoid the area or shelter in place. Around 11 p.m., the university said “our hearts go out to the victims” and everyone affected, and that the campus remains safe. It added that the incident happened near campus. Officials hadn’t confirmed whether it happened on university property, HBCU Gameday reported.
Mayor John Dailey called it a “truly horrific and heartbreaking tragedy” on X and wrote that “the FAMU family is not alone.” Lt. Gov. Jay Collins called the news heartbreaking, especially with children among the injured. Revell used nearly the same words in TPD’s official statement. Speaking to the victims and their families, he said, “We hurt with you.” Florida State University also acknowledged the shooting in its own statement.
A Pattern HBCUs Are Confronting
Homecoming season keeps colliding with gun violence. In October 2023, a mass shooting on West Pensacola Street during FAMU’s homecoming weekend left one person dead and eight injured, the Tallahassee Democrat reported. Two weeks ago, an off-campus shooting after a Delaware State homecoming event killed a man, and Dover police announced two arrests. Tuskegee’s 100th homecoming ended in November 2024 with one dead and 16 injured, according to NPR.
Police haven’t linked Saturday’s shooting to any of those cases. HBCU Sports columnist Chris Stevens also warned that painting homecomings as inherently violent is reckless, because outside activity involving people with no affiliation to the schools can put HBCUs under the microscope. He pointed to a Delaware newspaper that ran a photo of a Delaware State residence hall with its shooting story, even though the shooting happened across Route 13 at a shopping center. Location details matter in these stories. Police and FAMU describe Saturday’s shooting as near campus, and officials haven’t said whether it happened on university property.
What We Don’t Know Yet
In the FAMU homecoming shooting, police haven’t identified a suspect, a weapon, or a motive. They haven’t said how many people took part in the altercation beyond the preliminary account. Nor have they said whether anyone involved was a FAMU student, alumnus, or homecoming guest. Officials also haven’t confirmed exactly where the shooting happened in relation to university property.
HBCU Buzz will update this story as more information becomes available. The victims, their families, and the FAMU community are in our thoughts.
