12 injured in shooting near Florida A&M; 15-year-old arrested

A 15-year-old was arrested in connection with a shooting that injured 12 people, including six children, over the weekend near a football stadium in Tallahassee on homecoming weekend for Florida A&M University, police said Monday.

The Tallahassee Police Department said Anthony Rivers III, 15, is facing 11 counts of attempted second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a delinquent. Police said additional arrests were possible and the investigation remains open and active.

Eleven people suffered gunshot wounds in the Saturday night shooting, and another person fleeing the gunfire sustained an ankle injury, police said. Police said Sunday that six of the shooting victims remained hospitalized, and five had been discharged. One of those still hospitalized was being treated for critical injuries.

The department previously said at least three people sustained serious injuries in the shooting, while nine others are reported to be in stable condition.

The preliminary investigation indicates that a fight broke out before the shooting, according to police. It followed a football game in a crowded area. None of the victims appear to have been the intended targets, police said.

The university said on social media that the shooting happened near its campus and that it remained safe.

University President Marva Johnson said in a statement on Sunday that she shares in the “outrage and profound sadness at the senseless and despicable shooting” near the campus.

“To all the victims, please know that we are with you and we are praying for your recovery, in body, mind and spirit,” Johnson said in a video.

Quinn Gray, FAMU’s head coach, reacted to the shooting, saying in a Facebook post that the “senseless violence has to stop” and that no argument or altercation is worth someone’s life.

“Homecoming is about family. It’s about coming home to celebrate everything FAMU means to us,” he said. “No one should leave our celebration in an ambulance, and no child should ever be caught in gunfire.”