Gunshots were reported at the student union building on the university’s campus in Tallahassee shortly after noon on Thursday.
At least six people were hospitalized after the police responded to reports of a shooting at the Florida State University campus in Tallahassee on Thursday, officials said.
The Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare system said it had received six patients related to the episode at Florida State. One person was in critical condition and the five others were in serious condition, the hospital system said.
Gunshots were reported at the student union building shortly before noon. About half an hour later, the university issued a shelter-in-place alert and canceled all classes, university events and business operations for the rest of the week. All athletic events are canceled through the weekend.
The communications director of the Tallahassee Police Department, Alicia Hill, said in a telephone call that there was one person in custody and that there were multiple injuries.
The campus police said that the situation remained active, and they did not release any information. Officers began evacuating academic buildings soon after the shelter-in-place alert went out. Campus officials told students to stay in place until officers reached them.
“I’m still pretty disoriented from it,” said Victor Castillo, 20, a sophomore and business management student at the school. He had been sheltering in place in the student union building during the shooting, eating lunch, when he heard what sounded like gun shots.
He hid under his stool.
“All of a sudden, I hear boom, boom, boom,” Mr. Castillo said. “My ears started ringing; I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t think it would happen here.”
Chris Coutts, 51, a professor of urban planning at the school, said he was “baffled” by what happened as he walked to his car after having sheltered in place. “This is the second one since I’ve been here,” he said, referring to a 2014 shooting in which a gunman wounded three people in the library.
The F.B.I. in Jacksonville said in a statement on social media that it was assisting with the response. The governor, Ron DeSantis, said on social media that state law enforcement was “actively responding.”
Local and state police were on campus escorting students from the buildings near the student union.
The last day of classes is next Friday.
This is a developing story.
