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Police in Tallahassee, Florida said around 300-400 students were in Florida State University's Strozier Library when a gunman opened fire early Thursday morning. The gunman was killed and three students were injured in the shooting.
Police officers carrying assault rifles walk Nov. 20, 2014, near Strozier library at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla.(Photo: Michael Schwarz, Special to the Tallahassee Democrat)
TALLAHASSEE — Three students were shot early Thursday at Florida State University library before campus police killed the gunman, Tallahassee police said.
Officers confronted the gunman, whose name has not been released, and ordered him to drop his weapon. But he fired at them and they unleashed a volley of shots, Tallahassee Police spokesman Dave Northway said.
Two of the victims were transported to Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, a Level 2 trauma center, police said. One is in critical condition; the other is stable. A third who was grazed by a bullet was treated and released at the scene.
The victims' families have been notified, police said. But their names have not be released.
"You never think something like this is going to happen to you until you have to react in that situation when someone is screaming there is a gun in the building. I ran for my life," said Allison Kope, a freshman from Cocoa Beach, Fla. "I ran right out the back door. My laptop and everything is still in there. It was shock. It was just instinct. You don't think about anything else, you just go."
The incident at Strozier Library started shortly around 12:30 a.m. ET. Three hundred to 400 students were inside the campus' main library, which is open 24 hours on weekdays, when the shooter entered with a handgun and opened fire.
Freshmen at Florida State University say they've heard of other school shootings, but never expected one on their campus.
"Security is not lacking on campus," campus Chief David Perry said. "This person for whatever reason produced a handgun and started shooting."
University President John Thrasher described the shootings as an isolated incident but also said police did "an extraordinary job taking quick and decisive action to prevent further tragedy." Officials canceled classes Thursday and made counseling available to students and staff.
Daniel Morales, a 19-year-old freshman from Fort Pierce, Fla., said that when he first heard someone say, " 'Somebody's got a gun.' I thought he was joking." But after realizing a gunman was in the library, Morales and others raced to a back room on the second floor where they barricaded a door with desks.
Three freshmen who were in the DeGraff Hall dormitory at the time said they began getting reports from friends locked down in the library.
"We know there are definitely people who saw the shooter," Anthony Coons said.
His friend Max Martin described the surreal scene.
"You hear all these stories on the news, then it happens," Martin said. "This is something you never want to happen."
Nikolai Hernandez, who was in another dorm room nearby, said he heard "consecutive gunshots" that sounded as if they came from an automatic rifle.
"That was confirmed when I went outside and talked to someone who said they say police open fire on a shooter who was armed right on the front steps of the library," the freshman said.
The video below was posted on Facebook by Jessica Davis. An individual can be heard over the intercom saying "There has been a shooting in the library. Stay where you are," and instructing people to call 911 if they have been shot.
The library was being cleared out by about 3 a.m. Before that, students were on lockdown at the campus' library and in dorms.
The shooting is being investigated as a homicide and attempted murder case, said Chief Michael DeLeo of the Tallahassee Police Department.
"It will take hours and days to put all the pieces together," DeLeo said. "Everyone wants to know why, and that's the hard question we are going to continue to investigate and try to find those answers for everybody."
More than 20 emergency vehicles from Tallahassee's police and fire departments, as well as from Leon County Emergency Services, blocked off the area around Landis Green, near the library. Strozier is named for a former president of the university.
Florida State University police issued an alert warning its 40,000 students that read: "Dangerous Situation! Main Campus — Tallahassee. Seek shelter immediately, away from doors and windows."
"If there is any positive news we can take from this occurrence (it) is that the victim count was not higher," Tallahassee Mayor-elect Andrew Gillum said.
Social media immediately lit up with messages of concern and prayer requests.
Contributing: Setareh Baig & Daniella Abinum, FSView; The Associated Press
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