Tallahassee police arrested a 15-year-old boy on Sunday in the shooting that wounded 11 people outside Bragg Memorial Stadium after FAMU’s homecoming game, and charged him with 11 counts of attempted homicide.
The department announced the arrest in a release on Monday, October 26. The teen also faces one count of possession of a firearm by a delinquent, according to police spokeswoman Alicia Hill. The charges are allegations and have not been proven in court.
Police say the investigation is still open and more arrests are possible.
“What should have been a weekend of celebration in our community instead became a night of fear and violence for the victims and their families.”
Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell
According to police, a physical altercation came first, in a dispute between people who knew each other. At this stage, detectives say none of the victims appears to have been the intended target.
The shots went off just before 8 p.m. on Saturday, October 24, near Perry and Manatee streets, while the streets behind the stadium were still packed after FAMU lost its homecoming game to Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 31 to 28.
Twelve people were hurt in all. Eleven were shot, six of them children, and the youngest victim is 11 years old. A grandmother of one victim was injured running from the scene. In the department’s Sunday morning update, five victims had been released from the hospital and six were still being treated, one of them in critical condition.
Revell called the arrest “a significant step forward” and said the work is far from over. Police are still asking anyone with photos, video or information from that night to call the tip line at 850-891-4610.