{"id":442392,"date":"2026-10-30T10:20:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T10:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/442392\/"},"modified":"2026-10-30T10:20:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T10:20:14","slug":"tallahassee-police-chief-offers-new-details-on-mass-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/442392\/","title":{"rendered":"Tallahassee police chief offers new details on mass shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"

A series of fights on a crowded street packed with homecoming crowds led up to one of the worst mass shootings in the city’s history<\/a>, Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell told those gathered at a church for a prayer vigil for the victims on Oct. 29.<\/p>\n

In his most expansive and unvarnished comments on the case, Revell thanked the roughly 50 members of the congregation and community gathered at Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church on 615 Tuskegee Street for their prayers and support.<\/p>\n

In offering a case update, he said shortly after the Florida A&M University homecoming game concluded, a fight broke out “among several of our youth just outside the stadium on Perry Street.”<\/p>\n

See prayer vigil held for Perry Street mass shooting victims<\/p>\n

1 of 25<\/p>\n

County Commissioner Bill Proctor speaks to nearly 50 community members gathered at Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026 for a prayer vigil for the 11 victims who were struck by gunfire during the mass shooting on Perry Street. (Alicia Devine\/Tallahassee Democrat)<\/p>\n

“That fight broke up. There was another fight just shortly after that. And then right after that. But in two minutes, a gun was brought into that scene, handed from one youth to another, and then a number of shots were fired,” he said.<\/p>\n

“We estimate anywhere from 3,000 to 6,000 people were probably on Perry Street. So I thank the Lord Jesus Christ that we had no deaths.”<\/p>\n

In an interview with the Democrat afterward, he said it all began with “just kids fighting.”<\/p>\n

“Kids have fought for our entire life, probably the history of mankind,” he said. “But it hasn’t been until this time that kids have started bringing guns into those, and that’s what we really have to do something about. This is a community issue, and it’s gonna take the entire community to figure out. How do we get these young men help?”<\/p>\n

Tallahassee police chief gives update on victims: ‘It truly breaks my heart’\"Tallahassee<\/p>\n

Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell bows his head in prayer during a prayer vigil on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026 held at Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church for the victims of the Perry Street mass shooting.<\/p>\n

In all, 11 people were shot. All of them appear to be unintended targets, according to Revell.<\/p>\n

He said the there are currently six people still in the hospital. He said one is at Shands UF and added that three remain in critical condition. A TMH administrator said earlier in the day that four patients remain at the hospital with one in critical condition and three in fair condition.<\/p>\n

Revell said he couldn’t get into details because of patient privacy, but he mentioned one victim by name when he acknowledged that “KayKay is probably our most serious.”<\/p>\n

Kaybreeyanna “KayKay” King was shot in the back of the head when the gunfire began, according to an online fundraiser.<\/p>\n

“So continue to pray for them,” he said. “It truly breaks my heart and we have got to go talk and we’ve got to do something. We as the police department cannot do it alone.”<\/p>\n

Revell lauds officers’ heroic deeds, notes that 24 officers were 200 yards from shooting<\/p>\n

Revell told those gathered that the police department had 24 officers within 200 yards of the shooting when the bullets began to fly.<\/p>\n

“Every one of my officers were working. I canceled all days off. This is not a matter of can we get enough police there? Can we get enough presence there? This is a matter for our community,” he said. “This is a matter for us to address and figure out what’s going on with our youth and in our community.”<\/p>\n

He hailed the heroics of the officers on scene. Cellphone video surfaced showing Tallahassee police officers and first responders trying to help victims by flashlight as they lay helpless on the ground. Another video shows police carrying a victim in what looked like a makeshift stretcher through a parking lot and crowd of onlookers.<\/p>\n

Scenes from shooting behind Florida A&M University football stadium<\/p>\n

1 of 35<\/p>\n

The Tallahassee Police Department investigates the scene of a shooting that occurred on Perry Street, behind Bragg Memorial Stadium just hours after the Florida A&M University homecoming game took place Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (Alicia Devine\/Tallahassee Democrat)<\/p>\n

“Our officers did an amazing job,” he said. “We know officers picked up victims and carried them extended distances just to get them to an ATV, so they could put them in an ATV just to get them to an ambulance.”<\/p>\n

In an interview with the Democrat afterward, he expounded on the toll situations like this have on officers.<\/p>\n

“They’ve taken it very hard,” he said, noting that the agency has trained counselors and “critical incident stress debriefings” for officers to come in and talk about their feelings.<\/p>\n

He said victims and officers went through the unimaginable. One officer even held a victim who was shot in the head until they could be safely transported.<\/p>\n

“That’s a lot of trauma there, and we tell them all the time that you have to deal with that trauma,” he said. “It’s been very hard on them.”<\/p>\n

Revell speaks to congregation about 15-year-old arrested in shooting<\/p>\n

Anthony Rivers III, 15, was arrested the day after the shooting on 11 counts of attempted homicide and possession of a firearm by a delinquent. He was formally charged as an adult<\/a> Oct. 27 and booked into the Leon County Detention Facility.<\/p>\n

A pre-trial detention hearing in which more details would have likely come out was scheduled Friday but was abruptly canceled by the judge after the state attorney and Rivers’ defense attorney agreed that the suspect would remain in jail.<\/p>\n

“I know there’s a lot of speculation about, you know, was he the shooter or was he not the shooter, right? I cannot get into the specifics of the case, but what I can tell you is we don’t arrest someone without probable cause, right? That’s what I can tell you, right?” Revell said. “I will assure you that we will not stop until all people that were involved in this are brought to justice. Our families that were injured deserve that.”<\/p>\n

\"Anthony<\/p>\n

Anthony Rivers III, 15, appears before Leon Circuit Judge Andrew Sheeran on Monday, Oct. 26, during a juvenile detention hearing. Rivers was arrested the day before on 11 counts of attempted homicide in connection with a mass shooting Saturday, Oct. 24, outside Bragg Stadium after the Florida A&M University homecoming game.<\/p>\n

He also indirectly addressed an exclusive Tallahassee Democrat report<\/a> that Rivers was arrested two months prior in connection to a shooting that caused terror at Governor’s Square Mall<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“I know that what’s going on in the community and rumors and things, and … I cannot comment as to whether he was or was not the shooter at the mall, because as you can imagine, if he were or were not, that would compromise one case or the other,” he said. “So I cannot comment on that at all, and there’s been a lot of speculation on that.”<\/p>\n

A camera was right above where the mass shooting happened. It didn’t work\"A<\/p>\n

A sign posted outside of Bragg Stadium alerts passersby that they are under 24\/7 surveillance, Oct. 25, 2026. It is unclear what cameras were operating at the time of the mass shooting on Oct. 24, 2026.<\/p>\n

Revell also addressed criticism by State Attorney Jack Campbell that not enough surveillance cameras<\/a> were available to police and prosecutors working the case.<\/p>\n

Campbell revealed that only a portion of the mass shooting<\/a> was captured on video.<\/p>\n

Campbell also criticized recent government decisions that affected law enforcement “video capabilities”<\/a> and called for more surveillance in public places where no one has any expectation of privacy.<\/p>\n

“You heard him mention the camera that was right above where this happened. The camera on the pole, literally right above where this happened,” Revell said. “It didn’t work. And I’m not going to get into the reason why.”<\/p>\n

Before FAMU homecoming, TPD launched a ’roundup’ of the city’s most dangerous people<\/p>\n

Revell also told those gathered that in the days before FAMU’s homecoming, law enforcement launched an operation to pick up the most dangerous criminals in the city with outstanding warrants.<\/p>\n

“What I know is that we identified about 40 individuals that are… some of our most violent people in our community that had outstanding warrants before the game,” he said, “and we picked up 36 of those 40, just to try and make the weekend safer, right?”<\/p>\n

He provided no other details but cautioned that he wasn’t saying any of the arrested were involved in the violence that has garnered international headlines.<\/p>\n

Revell discusses security, safety as Tallahassee gears up for double football day, Halloween<\/p>\n

Revell said law enforcement would be out in force<\/a> this weekend as Tallahassee gears up for Halloween festivities colliding with a FAMU football game at 3 p.m. and a Florida State University game at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n

“So there’s going to be a lot of people in town this weekend as well,” he said. “Perry Street is going to be busy. Again, it always is. It’s as old as FAMU football. That tradition with our vendors is as old as FAMU football itself.”<\/p>\n

He said he met with FAMU President Marva Johnson, Mayor John Dailey and City Manager Karen Jumonville to discuss enhanced security and safety measures.<\/p>\n

Scenes from the morning after the mass shooting on Perry Street<\/p>\n

1 of 25<\/p>\n

The Tallahassee Police Department work the scene of a mass shooting that took place on Perry Street the night prior, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. During the tragic event, 11 people were shot \u2014 five have been released from the hospital as of the morning of Oct. 25. (Alicia Devine\/Tallahassee Democrat)<\/p>\n

He said it has long been a challenge to regulate operations on Perry Street, which is private property and not on-campus.<\/p>\n

“We’re working through that,” he said. “I don’t want you to think we’re not aware of it.”<\/p>\n

Later, he gave the Democrat some specifics on security measure. He said officers will be spread out around the city at Halloween and football events.<\/p>\n

“And so we’re gonna be spread thin this weekend, but we’ll have extra officers at FAMU again,” he said. “We’re putting extra lighting, the city is bringing in some to set up lights to help illuminate Perry Street. And we’re gonna move our command bus from Wahnish (Althea Gibson Way) around to Perry Street. Just try to show even more of a presence than we already always do.”<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee police chief offers new details on mass shooting<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A series of fights on a crowded street packed with homecoming crowds led up to one of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":442393,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[232,234,233],"class_list":["post-442392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tallahassee","tag-tallahassee","tag-tallahassee-headlines","tag-tallahassee-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442392","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=442392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=442392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=442392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=442392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}