In the wake of this past weekend’s shooting near Florida A&M University, alumni, students, and faculty were quick to remind people the violence wasn’t on the campuses. For others, the shooting was also a call to action.
Police said Saturday’s shooting stemmed from an altercation following FAMU’s homecoming game against the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. The alleged shooter, a 15-year-old male, opened fire on Perry Street nearby Bragg Memorial Stadium.
Twelve people were injured in the incident, with one the victims being hurt while fleeing the scene, according to police. Six children were injured, with the youngest reportedly 11 years old, according to the city’s police department.
Former FAMU coach Willie Simmons and his wife shared their personal trauma and a call for action after the shooting. In 2021, their son Louis Tre Zanders was injured in a shooting at FAMU where he was a student.
“It’s the reason I started the gun violence initiative in 2019 and you try to make a difference and drive a message home there’s a better way,” Simmons told the Tallahassee Democrat. “But clearly not enough is being done because it’s continuing to happen across America.”
The university’s president, Marva Johnson, emphasized that the incident didn’t occur on the campus grounds, resulting in the city’s police department leading the investigation instead of FAMU Police Department.
“To our Rattler family and our surrounding Tallahassee community, I share your outrage and profound sadness at the senseless and despicable shooting that took place near our FAMU campus last night,” Johnson said in a video message to the university’s surrounding community.
The HBCU Culture Shop, a prominent Black college apparel vendor, said on Instagram that attendees ran through its Perry Street pop-up to flee the gunfire.
Also on Saturday, two men were hospitalized for non-life-threatening gunshot wounds after an altercation near Henderson Hall on Virginia Union University’s campus in Richmond, Virginia, according to police.
Avantae Brooks, 22, of Richmond, was one of the two men hospitalized and accused of the shooting. On Sunday, he was charged with attempted murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in the shooting. Investigators said they believe he shot himself accidentally during the incident. The other man took himself to the hospital.
At this time, it is not known if Brooks is affiliated with the university.
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