Boy, 15, charged after 12 wounded at Florida college homecoming party

Florida police have charged a 15-year-old boy with 11 counts of attempted murder following a mass shooting at a college homecoming event on Saturday evening.

The incident occurred just before 8 p.m. at an intersection near Florida Agricultural + Mechanical University (FAMU) Bragg stadium in Tallahassee. A homecoming football game had recently concluded when the gunfire erupted. Twelve people were injured: six adults and six minors. Eleven victims sustained gunshot wounds, while one person injured an ankle while trying to escape the scene. Three victims were seriously wounded, and one remains in critical condition in the hospital.

Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell announced the arrest on Monday via the department's Facebook page. The suspect is identified as Anthony Rivers III, 15. Police said Rivers was arrested on Sunday. He faces 11 charges of attempted second-degree murder and one charge of possession of a firearm by a delinquent. While law enforcement usually withholds the names of minor suspects, the severity of the charges against Rivers made him an exception to that practice.

Police stated that Rivers opened fire following an altercation between two groups of people who knew each other. Revell said none of the injured individuals were believed to be intended targets. Officers arrived quickly and carried some injured people to safety through the dense crowd. Revell thanked community members on Sunday for providing cellphone video of the shooting, describing the footage as vital to the investigation.

In a statement, Revell noted that the investigation is ongoing and further 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,” Revell said. He added that the arrest is a step forward, but the department remains committed to holding responsible parties accountable.

FAMU President Marva Johnson condemned the violence in a video message posted on X on Sunday, calling it “senseless and despicable.” She said the university is providing full assistance to the Tallahassee police department. “Our pride, our identity, and our future will not be defined by the challenges we face, but how we respond to them together,” Johnson said.

The shooting was one of five mass shootings recorded over the weekend in the United States. The Gun Violence Archive, a nonpartisan tracker, defines these events as those involving at least four victims who are wounded or killed. The organization has logged 386 such cases in the country so far this year.