This apartment at The Cottages at Magnolia is where a house party took place Friday night.
Photo Submitted by Rickayla Mitchell.
Ralph Russell, also known as DJ 23, could feel the floor literally shaking at The Cottages at Magnolia early Saturday morning.
And then the floor did more than shake — it collapsed.
A number of Florida A&M University students were among the partygoers who were injured when the living room floor caved in right under their feet just past midnight Friday at the house party at The Cottages at Magnolia.
“I had the floor literally bouncing. I had a feeling something was about to break because the crowd was jumping so much,” Russell said. “And once the floor caved in I was so shook, it sounded like gunshots.”
According to partygoer Zion Gathers, approximately 60 people were crowded into the apartment’s living room when the incident occurred. A number of partygoers fell through the floor of the apartment while others ran out the back door. Some were taken to the hospital.
“I broke my foot, that was the only thing on my mind. I just remember getting rushed to the hospital,” Gathers said.
Another partygoer, Vashaun Williams, Jr., described the aftermath as shocking.
“The hole in the bottom of the floor was huge and the flooring was ruined completely,” Williams said.
“I was trying to make sure myself and my friends were OK first and foremost, then I wanted to make sure anybody that fell through was helped out as quickly as possible,” Williams added.
Tallahassee Police Department spokesman Damon Miller said Monday that TPD did not have any incident reports regarding the food cave-in at The Cottages at Magnolia. However, partygoers said police arrived to the scene along with paramedics.
At leasing agent at The Cottages at Magnolia declined to provide his name and said he could not comment on the incident.
A similar incident took place years ago at another student apartment complex in Tallahassee. While the danger of house parties is always in question for some, this party was even more dangerous, according to Williams.
“I feel that any house party has a level of danger associated with it. This one was probably more dangerous due to the foundation of the location and the amount of people in the small elevated space,” Williams said.
Russell said DJ 23 will continue to perform at house party gigs.
“I personally prefer them (house parties) over the club. As long as you have security and a stable house and floor, I don’t see the problem with it. It will be a memorable experience for me as a DJ,” Russell said.