{"id":289373,"date":"2026-05-29T21:15:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T21:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/289373\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T21:15:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T21:15:17","slug":"university-of-florida-nursing-student-set-to-graduate-this-summer-dies-in-gainesville-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/289373\/","title":{"rendered":"University of Florida nursing student set to graduate this summer dies in Gainesville shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – Friends and family confirm that Brooke Smith, a 24-year-old killed on Tuesday night in a deadly shooting<\/a>, was a student at the University of Florida\u2019s College of Nursing.<\/p>\n

They say Smith was set to graduate with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) in August of this year. The college sent a message to students and staff sharing condolences and resources following the tragic loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe University of Florida College of Nursing learned today of the loss of one of our students. There are no words that can fully express the sorrow we feel as a community, or the depth of this loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith was also an employee of Yoga Pod in Gainesville. The company closed on Wednesday and Thursday out of respect for her death.<\/p>\n

\"BrookBrook Smith, 24, a University of Florida nursing student set to graduate this summer, died in a Gainesville shooting(WCJB)Deadly Shooting in Gainesville<\/p>\n

Gainesville Police Department officers responded to Creeks Edge Condos, on Northwest 23rd Boulevard in Gainesville, on Tuesday night on reports of gunfire<\/a>. They found Smith suffering a gunshot wound. She died at the scene.<\/p>\n

Based on information provided to investigators, they identified Xavion Perry, 31, as the suspect in the shooting. He had fled the scene shortly after the shooting.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Gainesville murder suspect on the run after chase in Daytona Beach, authorities say<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cApparently, our victim was trying to end this relationship or distance herself from the suspect, and that\u2019s what led to the altercation where she was ultimately shot,\u201d said Art Forgey, a Public Information Officer with GPD.<\/p>\n

Suspect Dies in Daytona Beach<\/p>\n

Hours after Perry reportedly fled from the shooting scene in Gainesville, his vehicle was spotted in the Daytona Beach area. Authorities attempted a traffic stop, but Perry led them on a chase.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Perry abandoned his vehicle, ran onto a pier at the beach, and jumped. Authorities were unable to immediately find him and conducted an extensive search in the area.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Gainesville murder suspect on the run after chase in Daytona Beach, authorities say<\/a><\/p>\n

Officers say Perry posted a live video of himself and made suicidal statements.<\/p>\n

The next day, a body was found<\/a> washed up on shore, which the Medical Examiner\u2019s Office positively identified as Perry.<\/p>\n

Peaceful Paths<\/a> officials say the tragedy serves as a reminder that it\u2019s okay to ask for help. The organization provided free services, including a 24-hour hotline (Call: 352-377-8255 or Text: 352-727-0948), emergency shelter, counseling, legal advocacy, and safety planning for people experiencing abuse.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to subscribe to our newsletter.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 WCJB. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – Friends and family confirm that Brooke Smith, a 24-year-old killed on Tuesday night in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[122384,3160,122385,28,30,29,59716,2511,122383,122386],"class_list":["post-289373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-brooke-smith","tag-daytona-beach","tag-deadly-shooting-in-gainesville","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-gainesville-shooting","tag-uf","tag-university-of-florida-college-of-nursing","tag-xavion-perry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=289373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/289374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=289373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=289373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=289373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}