Two students were robbed at gunpoint in a Florida State University (FSU) parking lot on August 16, just months after Florida Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Miguel Diaz de la Portilla (R-Miami) killed campus carry.
Ironically, the robbery at gunpoint is the second high-profile criminal use of guns on the FSU campus in less than two years. Breitbart News reported that a gunman opened fire outside FSU’s central library on November 20, 2014. A concealed carry permit holder was close enough to take out the gunman in the incident, but was barred from carrying a gun because of gun-free campus laws.
According to WTXL, the two students were robbed at gunpoint by “the gravel FSU parking lot located near the intersection of Madison Street and Gay Street.” The students told FSU police that a “white pickup truck or SUV” pulled up near them and a “male exited from the passenger side armed with a handgun and demanded the students’ belongings.” The students cooperated by handing over their belongings and the gunman climbed back into the vehicle and fled the scene.
FSU Police said no description was available for the driver of the “white pickup or SUV,” but the passenger who exited the vehicle and confronted the two students is described as “male, black, about 19-20 years old, approximately 5’8” tall, about 150 pounds, and wearing white t-shirt.” His “hair was styled as short ‘twist’ dreadlocks” and he was “armed with [a] black handgun.”
In 2015, FSU changed school policy to allow students with concealed carry permits to store handguns for self-defense in their cars during football games. UPI reported that the change was made after Florida Carry sued school president John Thrasher for not complying with state law requiring such allowances. Even in complying, Thrasher released a statement via WFSU re-affirming his personal opposition to allowing students to be armed on campus for self-defense: “While we fully intend to continue complying with Florida law, I nevertheless reiterate my strenuous opposition to the recent initiatives to permit the carrying of guns on university campuses. I do not believe that arming students increases campus safety.”
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.