Thousands of students and people from the Tallahassee community gathered in Langford Green on a sorrowful Friday evening to honor those who were lost and injured in a senseless act of violence one day earlier.
Florida State student Lesly Nazaire talked about how shocked he was to see all the students at the vigil.
“I was surprised to see so many people there. I only imagined that only about half of the people who showed up would.” Nazaire said.
FSU planned to stand together and fight back against this heinous act. President of Florida State Richard McCullough touched on how he was proud of how his students stood together and how first responders handled the situation.
“This is the kind of trauma that changes people, and it changes a place, but it does not define us. It does not define us. “What defines us is how we respond, and now, the University and the entire region responded,” McCullough said.
Amy Hecht, who serves as the Vice President for Student Affairs at Florida University, also spoke at the vigil and said that everyone in the crowd was incredible people.
“As a proud alumna, this is my family. You’ve heard so much about the incredible Florida State family; we are in this together. I look around and see so many incredible people who are here to support each other.” Hecht said.
The FSU student body has been leaning on one another during this tragedy.
Students like Emily Grace and Larry Harper III believe this vigil was necessary for the students to come together and deal with it as a collective.
“To mourn those who were lost, and also to show students and the community as a whole that they have a huge support system and do not have to go through this alone,” Grace said.
“I’ve been to a vigil before, and I think it does the job of making us realize that death can be random.” “Taking small actions to demonstrate compassion becomes more valuable. Despite our factions, FSU is community-oriented when needed.” Said Harper.
As time passes and things slowly but surely return to normal on Florida State’s Campus, President Richard McCullough left his students with strong and encouraging words.
“Florida State is strong. We will be there to lift each other. We’ll show the world what it’s like to be part of the Florida State family.” McCullough said.