A mass shooting at a university in Florida has left two people dead and six others wounded, police in the southeastern US state said, identifying the suspect as the son of a local law enforcement officer."Two victims are deceased and five individuals have been transported to a local hospital with gunshot wounds," Florida State University Chief of Police Jason Trumbower said on Thursday, adding the suspect was also in the hospital.
Florida State University is located in Tallahassee, Florida, home of the state Capitol. More than 40,000 students attend FSU.
According to a spokesperson from Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, at least six people were rushed to the hospital after the gunfire erupted.
From the Oval Office, flanked by Vice President JD Vance and senior officials, US President Trump addressed the tragedy: "It's a shame. It's a horrible thing. Horrible that things like this take place. And we'll have more to say about it later."
Asked whether he'd like to see new gun legislation in the wake of the deadly shooting, Trump said he has an "obligation to protect" the Second Amendment to the Constitution.
"These things are terrible, but the gun doesn't do the shooting, the people do."
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said, "Our prayers are with our FSU family, and state law enforcement is actively responding."
The university has cancelled all classes. All scheduled sports events have also been called off as the community grapples with the shock and trauma of today's violence.
The gunman was believed to be a current student at FSU and was taken to the hospital, police said.
 
It was also said he was the son of a Leon County sheriff deputy and had access to his mother's gun.
'It was survival'
Videos showed people running through traffic, fleeing the scene, around the time of the shooting at the student union.
Students and frightened parents hid in a bowling alley and crammed into a freight elevator inside the student union after hearing gunshots outside the building. 
Ambulances, fire trucks and patrol vehicles from multiple law enforcement agencies raced toward the campus just west of Florida's capital after the university issued an active shooter alert midday on Thursday, saying police were responding near the student union. 
Ryan Cedergren, a 21-year-old communications student, said he and about 30 others hid in the bowling alley in the union's lower level after seeing students running from a nearby bar.
"In that moment, it was survival," he said.
After about 15 minutes, university police escorted the students out of the building and he saw a person getting emergency treatment on the lawn, he said.
Chris Pento told WCTV in Tallahassee that he and his twins were getting lunch at the student union during a campus tour when they heard gunshots.
"It was surreal. And people just started running," he told the TV station.
They packed into a service elevator after encountering locked doors at the end of a hallway. "That was probably the scariest point because we didn’t know. It could get worse, right?‚" he said. "The doors opened and two officers were there, guns drawn."
Florida State’s alert system announced about three hours after the shooting that law enforcement had "neutralised the threat." Officials asked students and faculty to avoid the student union and other areas still considered an active crime scene.
Dozens of patrol vehicles, including a forensics van, were parked outside the student union. Officers blocked off the area with crime scene tape. 
Students and staff who left behind phones, keys and other items in the rush to evacuate waited in the shade and prayed for the victims.
About 44,000 students are enrolled in the university, according to the university data.
In 2014, the main library was the site of a shooting that wounded three people. Officers shot and killed the gunman, 31-year-old Myron May. 
The university has cancelled all classes and events for Thursday. It also cancelled home athletic events through Sunday.
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Source: TRT