TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida State University alumnus and attorney who shot three people at the school’s library early Thursday believed the government was targeting him for persecution, detailing his thoughts in a journal and in videos detectives obtained, authorities said.
Myron May had “expressed fears of being targeted and that he wanted to bring attention to this issue of targeting,” said Tallahassee Police Chief Michael DeLeo. “Mr. May was in a state of crisis.”
Police killed May, a 2005 graduate who later earned a law degree from Texas Tech University, early Thursday. Officers had responded to a 12:30 a.m. call about shots being fired at the library, where about 450 students were studying. When police arrived, May had wounded two students and an employee and reloaded a .380 semi-automatic pistol. He refused to put the gun down and they opened fire. More than 30 rounds were fired by May and the officers.
Police said May didn’t get past the lobby, but the sound of gunfire set off screams among students, who scrambled for cover among the bookshelves and barricaded themselves in rooms.
One person was in critical condition at a local hospital. Another, library staffer Nathan Scott, in good condition at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. A third person was treated and released. Police have not yet uncovered a motive.
Senior Jason Derfuss, 21, of Orlando, told the Tallahassee Democrat he heard gunfire as he left the library and saw a man fire at another person. Derfuss ran to his car and called 911 to report what he’d seen. After he got home, Derfuss dumped the contents of his backpack on the floor. He noticed several books were damaged, and then his roommate found a slug in the bag: a bullet had gone through a book about 14th-century philosopher John Wyclif.
“It was humbling to know that my life was in God’s hands right there and he graciously spared me,” Derfuss told the newspaper.
Friends called May sweet, smart and understated. May, 31, returned to Florida about three weeks ago, looking to get a new start in life.
“His fraternity nickname was ‘Sensitive Joe’ and it was fitting,” said state Rep. Matt Gaetz, who belonged to the same Florida State political club as May. “I was so surprised that someone with this docile nature would have something happen in their lives that would have this outcome.”
