TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Eleven people were shot, among them six juveniles including an 11-year-old, near Florida A&M University’s Bragg Memorial Stadium on Saturday night, hours after the university’s homecoming football game, in a shooting police said grew out of an altercation between a small number of people, according to CNN and USA Today.
The gunfire broke out just before 8 p.m. on Perry Street, near the stadium, as homecoming crowds were still in the area after Arkansas-Pine Bluff beat the Florida A&M Rattlers 31-28. Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell told reporters late Saturday that 11 people suffered gunshot wounds and that a twelfth person — the grandmother of one of the victims — was injured while fleeing the scene. One victim was in critical condition, three were seriously injured and eight were in stable condition, and one of those shot is a Florida A&M student, Revell said. No deaths were reported, and no arrests had been made by late Saturday night.
“Devastated”
“I stand before you tonight devastated,” Revell said at a late-night news conference, speaking directly to the victims and their families: “We hurt with you, and we will continue to get you the answers you so desperately want.” He said preliminary information indicated a physical altercation between two or three individuals preceded the shooting, and that the department’s Violent Crimes Unit is leading the investigation. “We’re still working the scene. Our detectives, our sergeants, our forensic personnel are all on scene and processing this as we go,” he said.
Police have not said whether the shooting was connected to the game itself, and CNN reported it was unclear whether there was any such connection. The university issued a campus safety alert at about 8:40 p.m. telling people to shelter in place and avoid the area near the stadium, according to USA Today.
University and city respond
Florida A&M said in a statement late Saturday that it was “aware of an incident that occurred near campus on Perry Street on the evening of October 24,” adding: “Our hearts go out to the victims and all those affected by this tragic incident. While the campus remains safe, individuals are encouraged to avoid the area to allow law enforcement to conduct its investigation.” The university, a historically Black institution, was in the middle of its homecoming weekend — normally its largest celebration of the year — when the shooting happened.
Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey called the shooting a “truly horrific and heartbreaking tragedy” in a post on X. “Tonight and in the days ahead, the FAMU family is not alone. Our entire community stands with you,” he wrote.
What happens next
Investigators were still processing the scene overnight and working to identify who fired the shots. The fact that six of the wounded are juveniles — the youngest 11 — is likely to sharpen questions in Tallahassee about how a dispute among a few people at a family-centred community event turned into one of the city’s largest mass-shooting tolls. Police asked anyone with information to come forward as the Violent Crimes Unit continues its work. This article will be updated as the conditions of the wounded and the search for suspects develop.
Sources: CNN, October 25, 2026 — 11 people shot near Florida university stadium; USA Today, October 25, 2026 — 11 shot after Florida A&M homecoming game.
