On November 20, 2014, a

school shooting A school shooting is an Gun violence, armed attack at an educational institution, such as a primary school, secondary school, high school or university, involving the use of a firearm. Many school shootings are also categorized as mass shooti ...

occurred at the

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

campus in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

. The gunman, 31-year-old Myron May, was shot and killed by responding police officers, while three people were injured by May, one of whom became paralyzed and sued the university for damages. Florida State experienced another shooting on April 17, 2025, which resulted in two deaths.

Shooting

At approximately 12:25 am, May entered the Strozier Library of

with a .38-caliber handgun, where about 300 students were studying for exams. May opened fire and wounded three people. May was carrying additional ammunition in his pockets. He left the library after he was unable to break through the security turnstiles, which only let students and employees pass through. State and school resource police officers were able to find him standing on an access ramp outside the library near the entrance. They ordered May to drop the weapon, but he refused and fired one shot at the officers. Officers returned fire shortly after, striking May; he was pronounced dead at the scene. Thirty gunshots were fired during the shooting, including shots fired by the officers. According to an autopsy report, May was shot 24 times. The shooting lasted about five minutes, and May reloaded his gun at least once during the shooting. The pistol May used in the shooting, a Lorcin .380, was reported stolen after a

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually ...

at a residence located in

Panama City Beach, Florida Panama City Beach is a resort town in the Florida Panhandle, and principal city of the Panama City Metropolitan Area. It is a popular vacation destination, especially among people in the Southern United States, and is located in the "Emerald C ...

. It is unknown on how May obtained access to this firearm. Two boxes of ammunition were found in the passenger seat of May's vehicle, and a .12 gauge pump-action shotgun and a black

BB gun A BB gun is a type of air gun designed to shoot metallic spherical projectiles called BBs (not to be confused with similar-looking bearing balls), which are approximately the same size as BB-size lead birdshot used in shotguns ( in diameter) ...

were found at the rear cargo area. During the shooting, May used his Samsung Galaxy S5 cellphone, which had a series of text messages between him and his friend in which they argued about May having

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

. The shooting resulted in a campus alert that urged the students to take shelter and stay away from all doors and windows.

faculty also announced that all classes would be cancelled for the remainder of the month.

Victims

Three people were injured in the shooting, two of whom were hospitalized at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, with one in critical condition. Nathan Scott, a library employee of the school who was shot in the leg, was discharged shortly after arriving. Farhan Ronny Ahmed, a wounded student, became paralyzed after a bullet severed his spinal cord. The third injured victim, student Elijah Velez, was not critically injured.

Perpetrator

Myron May was born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, in 1983 and moved to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

as a teen. He graduated from

in 2005 and was awarded several scholarships while he was a student there. May was living with his mother and was reportedly addicted to

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

. He worked as a

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

in the felony division of the third

judicial district A judicial district or legal district denotes the territorial area for which a legal court (usually a district court) has jurisdiction. By continent Europe Austria In texts concerning Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Aus ...

attorney's office. He returned to the area near the university three weeks before the shooting after attending

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. May did not have a

criminal record A criminal record (not to be confused with a police record or arrest record) is a record of a person's criminal Conviction, convictions history. The information included in a criminal record, and the existence of a criminal record, varies betwe ...

, but police reported that he was suspected of using

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

in 2002 and was a victim of a

carjacking Carjacking is a robbery in which a motor vehicle is taken over.Michael Cherbonneau, "Carjacking," in ''Encyclopedia of Social Problems'', Vol. 1 (SAGE, 2008: ed. Vincent N. Parrillo), pp. 110-11. In contrast to car theft, carjacking is usually i ...

in 2003. May had believed that the government was secretly watching him, and he had written his thoughts in his diary and through videos. In his diary, he described himself being in a "state of crisis" and expressed fears that he would be "targeted by the government". Before the shooting, he filed several police reports, one for suspicious circumstances and another for

harassment Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and ...

. He told the police that he was almost certain that a hidden camera was located somewhere in a room of his residence. He also claimed that he constantly heard voices speaking through the walls and talking about what he was doing. A month later, May's ex-girlfriend called police at her residence, explaining that he was showing symptoms of a "severe mental disorder" for which he was hospitalized several weeks prior. She said that May had shown up at her house rambling and holding a part of his car, claiming it was a camera and asking her to keep it for him. She said that her 15-month relationship with him ended as his

ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple ...

became worse and he started treating it with medication. May's mental health was rapidly worsening, leading to him quitting his job at his district attorney's office. Before the shooting, he sent friends messages saying that he sent them packages and that they could "expect them on Friday". Police seized one of the packages, which contained videos and journals.

Legal proceedings

In 2017, a

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

was filed against Florida State University, accusing the university of being negligent in providing security for the students. The lawsuit claimed that the university should have had "armed and sworn officers" on campus. It also claimed that the shooting could have been prevented if employees had reported May's first failed attempt to enter the library on the day of the shooting. In 2025, the university asked the lawsuit to be dismissed. In a statement, they said, "Despite the University's deepest sympathy for plaintiff and all of the students, employees and other members of FSU community who were exposed to the shooting, it respectfully denies that it is liable to a sum or manner for the action of a madman." In 2018, a lawsuit was filed against the university by library assistant Paige McPadden for mental trauma; she accused the university of not doing enough to warn her of the dangers of working here and not giving her counseling services offered to other students because she was a Black woman. Another lawsuit was filed against the university in 2019, resulting in a $1 million settlement to injured victim Ronny Ahmed.

Reactions

Governor

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers; born December 1, 1952) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and United States Navy, Navy veteran serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of F ...

spoke at a rally in the Florida State University's campus, where he thanked the swift police response. Chief Michael DeLeo described the shooting as an "isolated incident" with only one person involved. Florida State University President

John Thrasher John Thrasher may refer to: * John Thrasher (pioneer) (1818–1899), pioneer of Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. * John Thrasher (Florida politician) (1943–2025), American politician in Florida {{hndis, Thrasher, John ...

said in a statement, "The Florida State University community is extremely saddened by the shootings that took place early this morning at Strozier Library, in the very heart of campus, and our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of all those who have been affected." Ronny Ahmed, the student who was paralyzed, said that he wished that there were stricter background checks for firearm purchases and that somebody should have stopped May before the attack. He also said that the pain he experienced during the shooting never went away, and that he is living a paraplegic life.

References