12 Injured, 11 Shot Near FAMU Stadium After Homecoming Game in Tallahassee

Updated 01:31 UTC

Tallahassee police on Monday named the teenager arrested in the shooting near Bragg Memorial Stadium as Anthony Rivers III, 15, and State Attorney Jack Campbell said Rivers will be charged as an adult. Rivers faces 11 counts of attempted second-degree murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a delinquent, police said. He was arrested on Sunday, Oct. 25, and appeared at a detention hearing on Monday, Oct. 26, where a judge ordered him to remain in custody. A judge also granted the police request to seal the arrest warrant and affidavit, CNN reported, so few other details from the arrest record are public.

Police Chief Lawrence Revell said the shooting followed a physical altercation among individuals known to one another and that, at this stage, none of the victims appear to have been the intended targets. "What should have been a weekend of celebration in our community instead became a night of fear and violence for the victims and their families," Revell said. "While this arrest marks a significant step forward, our work is far from over." Police said more arrests are possible. Leon County Schools told the Tallahassee Democrat that four students were among the injured. Six victims remained hospitalized, including one in critical condition, USA Today reported on Monday. No deaths have been reported. It remains unclear whether the off-campus shooting was connected to the homecoming game, which Arkansas-Pine Bluff won 31-28.

Updated 13:04 UTC:

Tallahassee police said on Monday that a 15-year-old boy was arrested on Sunday in connection with the shooting near Florida A&M University's Bragg Memorial Stadium that injured 12 people on Saturday night. Police Chief Lawrence Revell said the teenager faces 11 counts of attempted second-degree murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a delinquent, CNN and FOX 13 reported. Revell said the investigation suggests a physical altercation took place among individuals known to one another before shots were fired, and that at this stage none of the victims appear to have been the intended targets. The investigation remains active and additional arrests are possible, police said. No deaths have been reported. Eleven of the injured were shot and a twelfth person was hurt while fleeing, and six of the injured are juveniles, the youngest aged 11.

Updated 21:35 UTC: Five of the people shot near Bragg Memorial Stadium had been released from the hospital by Sunday morning, Oct. 25, and six remained hospitalized, one of them in critical condition, Tallahassee police said. No one had been arrested by Sunday morning and police had not identified a suspect or a person of interest. Detectives have reviewed digital evidence and canvassed the area, police said in a statement on Sunday, and investigators set up a tip hotline and a link for people to submit evidence. "We need our community's help. No detail is too small, and no piece of information should go unreported," the statement said. People with information can call the Perry Street shooting hotline at 850-891-4610.

Florida A&M football coach Quinn Gray urged an end to what he called senseless violence in a post on Sunday, Oct. 25. "Homecoming is about family," Gray wrote. "No one should leave our celebration in an ambulance, and no child should ever be caught in gunfire." He asked anyone who knows anything to contact Tallahassee police and closed with a message to the FAMU community: "Take care of each other, Rattler Nation."

The Youth Peace and Justice Foundation, also known as The Uvalde Foundation For Kids, said on Oct. 25 that it is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information about the shooting, opening an emergency fund for affected families and making clinicians and crisis chaplains available. The foundation was created after the May 24, 2022, shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Its founder, Daniel "Bodhi" Chapin, said: "Behind every number is a person, a family and a community trying to understand what happened and what comes next."

Updated 08:47 UTC: National wire reports on Sunday morning confirmed the same toll police gave overnight, with no arrests and no deaths reported. The Associated Press, Reuters and CNN all reported 12 people injured near Bragg Memorial Stadium, 11 of them shot. The shooting followed the homecoming game, in which Arkansas-Pine Bluff beat Florida A&M 31-28. Police said they do not know whether the shooting was connected to the game.

Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey called the shooting a truly horrific and heartbreaking tragedy. "Tonight and in the days ahead, the FAMU family is not alone. Our entire community stands with you," Dailey wrote. Revell said the department's Violent Crimes Unit is leading the investigation, with detectives and forensic staff still working the scene. "It is especially heartbreaking to know that children are among those injured," Revell said. "We hurt with you, and we will continue to get you the answers you so desperately want."

Earlier update: Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell said at a late-night press conference that at least 12 people were injured in the shooting near Perry and Manatee streets, just before 8 p.m. on Saturday. Eleven of the victims suffered gunshot wounds. Six victims are adults and six are juveniles, and the youngest victim is 11 years old. A twelfth victim, the grandmother of one of the victims, was injured while fleeing the scene. One of the victims is a Florida A&M student.

Three victims suffered serious injuries, including one in critical condition, and eight were in stable condition, Revell said. No deaths had been reported. Police said early information points to an altercation between individuals before the shooting, and Revell said investigators believe it was an isolated incident between two or three individuals. No one had been arrested by the time of the briefing.

"I stand before you tonight devastated," Revell said. He said officers picked up victims and carried them in their arms to transport them because crews could not get through the mass of people around the scene. Florida A&M issued a statement at about 11 p.m. saying its hearts go out to the victims and that the campus remains safe. Police asked anyone with information to call the Tallahassee Police Department at 850-891-4200 or Crime Solvers at 850-574-TIPS.

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. Police said more information will be released as it becomes available.