Florida State University students gathered by the hundreds Sunday to mourn two of their own, a student and a faculty member, killed in a shooting last week.
Students lit candles and a university string quartet played songs in remembrance of Maura Binkley, a student, and Nancy Van Vessem, a director in the College of Medicine. The two were killed by a gunman who opened fire at a Tallahassee yoga studio Friday.
University President John Thrasher says he is focused on taking care of all students in the aftermath:
"I just came from the hospital and visited with one of the young women who were shot five times, and she’s amazing," Thrasher said. "Her spirit is good, the friend around her are supporting her, and we’re going do everything we can to support her and all the families that were involved in this very tragic incident."
This is the second shooting to rock the campus community in four years. In 2014, a gunman shot three people in a campus library, paralyzing one of the victims. Thrasher told the crowd Sunday he is deeply saddened, but also angry.
"I have fought for four years, and the previous two years, when I was in the Florida legislature, to keep guns off this campus," Thrasher said. "And I promise you, I promise you I will continue to fight that fight."
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