The Tallahassee Police Department and Florida State University Police Department responded to a shooting at Potbelly’s early Sunday morning, after several altercations left a student at Florida A&M University wounded.
Officers were dispatched at around 2:30 a.m. to the nightclub located at the corner of West College Avenue and North Macomb Street. Reports suggest that the incident occured after a fight from a nearby location was cleared.
An FSU alert sent out later that morning stated, “The [shooting] appears to be an isolated incident resulting from the multiple physical altercations.”
The victim of this shooting, whose identity has yet to be released, is understood to currently be a fourth-year student at FAMU.
The victim suffered a non-fatal gunshot wound to the chest and is currently still receiving treatment at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.
This incident comes just weeks after another FAMU student, Louis Tre Zanders, survived being shot in the yard of his own townhouse, located on the street directly behind Bragg Memorial Stadium.
Gun violence has been a steady issue in Tallahassee in recent years. Within the first three months of 2021, 16 shootings have already occurred in the capital city, with three ending in fatalities.
However, this issue seems to be easing its way closer to FAMU’s campus and community.
Zanders’s parents, Shaia Simmons and FAMU football coach Willie Simmons, have been public advocates against gun violence in the community, including the Peace Up Guns Down Rally.
Zanders, a criminal justice and psychology double major, took to social media himself to speak out on the issue, stating in a heartfelt message, “I would like to urge everybody, not just here in Tallahassee, but nationally, to stop gun violence so we can protect our future.”
While some college students believe that Tallahassee is still fairly safe, they do believe the local authorities can do more to ensure student safety.
Andrew Chiwara, a second-year agribusiness student at FAMU, stated “They should work to educate people on guns and keep them informed about the different laws and legal ways to go about getting a gun for the people interested in them.”
As the firearm issue continues in the capital city, FAMU campus security ensures they are committed to the safety of FAMU students.
Zanders and his family continue to advocate against gun violence in the community.
“A lot of people go through the same things that I go through and they don’t make it. A lot of my friends go through the same things that I went through and they don’t make it; they lay down on that bed that I laid on and they never get back up,” Zanders stated in his social media message.
While TPD described this as an active investigation, they have confirmed there is no ongoing threat.
If you, or anyone you know, have information pertaining to this incident, please call 850-891-4200, or report anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 850-574-TIPS.