MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - A school community is in mourning after, police said, two men were shot and killed at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens.
It was a quiet scene on campus Sunday night, as students grappled with the burst of violence that claimed two lives.
“Everybody is either in their rooms or they’re gone,” said student Tiffani Billings. “It’s just like a mood of sadness.”
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, Miami Gardens Police and Opa-Locka Police units responded to the campus, located near Northwest 42nd Avenue and 158th Street, just after 10:15 p.m., Saturday.
Police said two men got into an argument and shot at each other.
Witnesses told 7News they were at a party on campus when gunfire rang out.
“We just heard shots and everybody just running,” said student Jermiah George.
Responding officers found the victims suffering from gunshot wounds.
Students who saw the men lying on the ground said they’ve been left scarred.
“I’ve never seen something like that, and so the fact that I’ve seen it, it was just, you know, real life,” said Billings.
“I’ve heard gunshots before, so it was like, the gunshots are not nothing new to me, but just seeing a dead body, so that’s just kind of is what is weird to me,” said George.
7News cameras captured a heavy police presence as Miami Gardens Police cruisers blocked the main entrance to the campus.
One of the victims was pronounced dead at the scene.
Paramedics airlifted the other patient to Jackson Memorial Hospital as a trauma alert. 7News cameras captured the moment crews wheeled him into the hospital.
Investigators said he later succumbed to his injuries.
The campus remained on lockdown late into the night. Several students were seen standing outside the entrance, unable to enter.
Family members of the victims were also seen at the scene.
As FMU students head into the new school week, some are doing so with grief and a lost sense of security.
“You’re supposed to be safe at a school. You’re not supposed to be at school afraid for your life,” said Billings, “and that’s exactly what happened. We are afraid for our lives now.”
As of late Sunday night, police have not released the victims’ identities.
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