A tragic event occurred at Florida State University on Thursday when a shooting incident led to the deaths of two individuals, leaving at least six others injured. Students, faculty members, and families on campus for a visit found themselves taking cover in classrooms, offices, and dormitories as the university in Tallahassee broadcasted an active shooter alert. Some individuals even packed into a freight elevator after hearing shots near the student union.
The weapon used in the attack belonged to the 20-year-old suspected shooter’s mother, who has an 18-year tenure with the sheriff’s office. It was reported as her former service weapon. Authorities revealed that the suspect is believed to be a student, and following the attack, he was shot and apprehended by the police. Unfortunately, the deceased were not students.
This recent event brings to mind a notorious shooting in the university’s main library in 2014 when a 31-year-old gunman injured three victims before being subdued by police. Such incidents, while infrequent on college campuses, remain a prevalent concern for students today, given their exposure to active shooter exercises throughout their schooling years.
“There is a prevailing fear that such a situation could arise at any moment,” remarks Michael Lawlor, an associate professor specializing in criminal justice at the University of New Haven in Connecticut. This anxiety grows with each incident, reinforcing these concerns among the student population.
Looking back at past U.S. college campus shootings, we recall several tragic happenings:
– In December 2023, a 67-year-old ex-business professor, unsatisfied with his rejected job applications, opened fire at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, resulting in three faculty members and the gunman’s own death.
– February 2023 saw a 43-year-old individual carry out a deadly attack at Michigan State University, claiming the lives of three students and injuring five. The gunman committed suicide following police confrontation off campus.
– At the University of Virginia in November 2022, a member of the student body and former football player fatally shot three of his peers. The incident led to a prolonged lockdown until his apprehension. He has pled guilty to several charges, including first-degree murder.
– Northern Arizona University experienced heartbreak in October 2015 when a fresh entrant to college life took the life of one student and wounded three others. The shooter was later convicted and served a prison sentence.
– A 2015 attack at Umpqua Community College by a 26-year-old gunman left an instructor and eight others dead, while injuring nine more before the shooter ended his own life.
– In May 2014, deadly violence shadowed the University of California, Santa Barbara, when a 22-year-old deeply frustrated by personal rejections murdered six students and injured more before killing himself.
– Similar horrors unfolded in June 2013, at Santa Monica College when domestic violence spilled into the public sphere, with a 23-year-old man taking several lives before being killed by police.
– Oikos University in April 2012 bore witness to the loss of seven lives at the hands of a former student, who received multiple life sentences and later died in incarceration.
– Northern Illinois University in February 2008 faced a former student’s wrath, resulting in five fatal shootings and numerous injuries before the shooter’s self-inflicted death.
– Virginia Tech in April 2007 bore the brunt of the deadliest college campus shooting in U.S. history with 32 lives lost to a disturbed student’s rampage before his suicide.
– Back in November 1991, the University of Iowa suffered the whim of a disgruntled former graduate student, leading to five deaths and one injury.
– The University of Texas in August 1966 was struck by one of the earliest large-scale active shooter events. A sniper, stationed atop a 27-story tower, killed 13 and injured over 30 before being fatally shot by authorities.