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Warrant Issued in FAMU Shooting

By Alexia R. Robinson
Black College Wire

Police at Florida A&M University have issued a warrant for the arrest of an 18-year-old man in connection with the Feb. 11 shooting of a FAMU student near the Student Services Center dining area.

Photo credit: The Famuan Shooting suspect James D. Platt is not a FAMU student.

Lt. Louis Wichers said the suspect was identified hours after the incident, which left Gary L. Thomas with a gunshot wound in his left foot.

The warrant for the arrest of James D. Platt was issued Feb. 14.

Wichers said Platt was wanted on three felony charges: aggravated battery with a firearm, discharging a firearm on school property; and possession of a firearm on school property, and a misdemeanor, improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon.

In an e-mail, Wichers said that "the shooting appears to have been [part of] an ongoing dispute between several individuals."

Thomas could not be reached for comment.

The shooting started after a fight broke out in the Student Services Center during lunchtime.

Witnesses reported seven or eight males beating up one person.

The fight escalated into the shooting, which sent Thomas to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, where he was released.

Platt is not a student at the university.

Alexia R. Robinson is a student at Florida A&M University who is editor-in-chief of The Famuan. She may be contacted at [email protected]

Posted Feb. 22, 2005