Tallahassee police break up big college parties as virus spreads

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – As coronavirus cases spike among Florida State University students, local police said Sunday they broke up a party at an off-campus student apartment complex that involved about 700 vehicles and more than 1,000 attendees.

Tallahassee police said it was one of a dozen large gatherings they broke up over the weekend, including one Sunday where two people were injured by gunfire.

Police said the vehicles at the student apartment complex were blocking travel lanes and a Leon County sheriff’s helicopter was used to help disburse the crowd.

Florida State University reported that more than 1,400 students and 26 employees had tested positive for COVID-19 through Sept. 18. The university updates its coronavirus numbers weekly.

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Florida has more than 700,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 14,200 people have died from the disease, according to statistics released by the state Department of Health on Sunday.