Oct. 26, 2026
JUST IN: Police Announce Shocking Arrest Of 15-Year-Old For Homecoming Game Mass Shooting
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RSS Feed An early morning press conference sent relief and shockwaves through the Tallahassee community. Police have apprehended and arrested 15-year-old Anthony Rivers III, charging him with 11 counts of attempted second degree murder after Florida A&M University’s homecoming night ended in gunfire. Police say Rivers began shooting into the crowd after getting into a physical altercation with at least one other person, injuring a dozen people, six of them children, and none of them his intended target.
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00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks. It is Monday, October 26th, and the shooting was shocking enough. 11 people shot outside of a homecoming game in Florida. Even more shocking now who police have just announced they've arrested in this shooting. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. And yes, our 11 shot and the other number now we're focused on is the age of this alleged shooter.
00:00:31
Speaker 2: Yes, 15 years old. Look, there had been a manhunt after the shooting that took place at 8 p.m. on Saturday night. This was in Tallahassee, just outside of the Florida A & M Stadium, just after a big homecoming game against Arkansas Pine Bluff.
00:00:51
Speaker 1: UAPB, my folks' alma mater down there. UAPB, yes. But again, look, at an HBCU, homecoming is a big deal. Homecoming is a really big deal. A lot of folks come back. There's always good energy. So this was even more so probably than their other regular season games. You got more folks out there. And the celebration, the parties, and the mood, and the festivities, I can only imagine what that crowd looked like. And somebody is just firing indiscriminately into it.
00:01:18
Speaker 2: Yes, and that appears to be what exactly happened. And this has been described as one of the worst mass shootings in Tallahassee, history. And so, yes, all eyes were on this investigation. Police had been asking, you imagine that crowd, how many people had their cell phones out, people who were recording and taking videos and surveillance cameras that may have been in the area. So they were scouring through all of this and finally announced just a short while ago that 15-year-old Anthony Rivers III has been arrested and he has been charged with 11 counts of attempted second-degree murder and And a possession of a firearm by a delinquent. And that is just the beginning because there is still at least one person fighting for their life in the hospital right now.
00:02:05
Speaker 1: Yeah, and Robes, what was it? At least half of the folks they said were discharged. But yeah, you still have a very, you have some, this isn't resolved, right? You could have, Robes, what we're sitting with, this kid could be charged with death, hopefully, excuse me, charged with murder. Absolutely. Hopefully, this person pulls through. But Robes, what are the 15-year-old doing with him? What a gun. What fight did you get into that you need to shoot this many times? And Robes didn't hit who he was shooting at, according to police.
00:02:36
Speaker 2: Yes. So according to police, this started out as a fight between or among known parties. So it wasn't some random act of violence. There was some argument that took place, they say, either between two or three people. And yes, of the 11 people who were hit with gun bullets... None of them were the intended targets.
00:02:59
Speaker 1: Far that many times and missed. Yes.
00:03:01
Speaker 2: So 11 people in the crowd suffered gunshot wounds. That's a lot of folks, man.
00:03:06
Speaker 1: Right?
00:03:07
Speaker 2: Six people remain hospitalized right now. One person is in critical condition among those six, and five were treated and released. But the youngest victim was 11 years old. And there was a 12th victim, by the way, and I think this is fair to say. Most people, yes, 11 were hit with bullets. Right. But another one was a grandmother of one of the victims who was injured while fleeing the scene. People describe this, and you can only imagine, as mass hysteria. People, you hear gunfire and you just start running. And so people were getting trampled. And this elderly woman actually had a pretty significant ankle injury because she was trampled trying to get away from the gunshots. And yeah, we know the youngest victim is 11 years old. Six adults and six kids were injured in the mayhem.
00:03:55
Speaker 1: And it's good to note that because it happens oftentimes in these mass shootings, these incidents, and just because she didn't get shot doesn't mean this woman isn't severely impacted for life by this injury. Rose, we see sometimes people die from heart attacks at being in a situation like this. It's not direct, didn't get shot. So, Rose, the scene, I'm trying, I don't know how many times this person fired. Was it only 11 times? I would assume it was more. than that, babe. How many bullets flew and none of them hit the target? You shot 11?
00:04:33
Speaker 2: Because you're 15 and you don't know what you're doing.
00:04:35
Speaker 1: Hey, they make a good point there, man.
00:04:36
Speaker 2: And you have no business with a firearm, obviously.
00:04:39
Speaker 1: Gross.
00:04:40
Speaker 2: And yeah, the only other information we got about who he did hit, one of them, and I think this is kind of amazing seeing how you are spilling out of a big game. Only one of them, at least they say, is a FAMU student. Mm-hmm. But at least one of them was a college student there who was celebrating. And they described the night as just a celebratory night, a family night. We know what homecoming games are like. We've just been at a couple. We were there in Arkansas. And we just were at Parents Weekend at University of Colorado Boulder.
00:05:12
Speaker 1: These are special weekends. They really are. And if you've never been to an HBCU homecoming, Lord have mercy. It's one of the best parties you'll ever go to. It doesn't matter who's there. You know what? Folks go, and Robes, a lot of times, the highlight isn't the game. It's the halftime battle of the bands. Robes, these are just awesome events. They just are. Now, the crowd and how many that stadium holds, I don't know, and how many we're spilling out, not sure, but just how do you fire that? Robes, you're just blah, blah, blah. Which direction? All around. 11 people? You don't realize after five people that you hit, that you didn't hit who you were trying to hit. Why are you still shooting? I got to hear this. And what, a 15-year-old?
00:06:11
Speaker 2: It was shocking. And again, this was just announced moments before we began this recording. So people are still trying to process how someone... this young was able to do as much damage as he did. And just like to think that it was some fight that, you know, you think Sabine's about to turn 14. Some of her friends, the idea that any of them would have guns on them is so deeply disturbing.
00:06:32
Speaker 1: What fight, what, what rises to the level when you're 14 and 15?
00:06:36
Speaker 2: A girl usually. Is it a girl? It's usually over some romantic or some Who knows? But it's obviously nothing that could be justified. And what the police chief had to say was this, and I think this is kind of summing up what you're describing in terms of the atmosphere and what people expect when you're going to a homecoming game here. What should have been a weekend of celebration in our community instead became a night of fear and violence for the victims and their families. While this arrest marks a significant step forward, our work is far from over. We remain committed to holding those responsible accountable and getting answers immediately. for every family impacted by this tragedy. And look, they said they have been working around the clock. Can you imagine trying to identify? And they aren't just saying the person responsible. They are saying those responsible because they say that this investigation is ongoing and active, and they do say that there could be more arrests because, yes, there was a fight.
00:07:33
Speaker 1: But that would make more sense if there was a second shooter, but they haven't said that.
00:07:38
Speaker 2: No, and they charged this young man, this 15-year-old with 11 counts of attempted second-degree murder.
00:07:45
Speaker 1: That's right, baby. They don't think there's another shooter.
00:07:47
Speaker 2: Yes, I don't think they do. But did someone else, would they in any way be held accountable if whatever they did or said- led up to did someone pull a gun on him and that's why he started shooting we don't know all of the details but they claimed that like look this was made especially hard because there were so many people who were wounded and injured anyone who was there um they were rushing to render aid to the victims it was less about finding the shooter and you know you have to make that choice as a police officer right you're on the scene and they did obviously have officers there anytime you've got a big football game in a community you've got a police presence there So they were on the scene, but they say instead of necessarily going after the shooter, they were rendering aid to people who were badly injured. And that makes sense.
00:08:35
Speaker 1: It does. Don't they consider these, is that a mass casualty event, as they call it?
00:08:40
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:08:40
Speaker 1: So you got to get people set up out there? I don't know. But I just, that scene. I haven't, as of yet, this morning, Robes, I haven't seen a lot of video out there from people posting anything. about what might've happened.
00:08:55
Speaker 2: I haven't either. And look, but police specifically said that they, um, they said they want to extend its appreciation to the community for the significant influx of information received since the shooting tips and digital evidence provided by members of the public were vital to our investigative efforts. So look, I think people, it's, it's interesting. Unfortunately, we get used, we, we learn how to act how to react and what to do immediately afterwards. And you can see people know police are going to need this video. They're going to need this evidence and they hand it over to police. And that in turn, it seems, led to the arrest that they were able to make late last night. But when we come back, we're going to talk about the mass shooters in this country. There is a new study out by the Rockefeller Institute of Government. You might be surprised by the average age of a mass shooter in this country. Welcome back, everyone. to Amy and TJ. Just announced in Tallahassee that a 15-year-old is responsible for the mass shooting that took place on Saturday night just outside of the Florida A & M Stadium. Homecoming game against Arkansas Pine Bluff ended, unfortunately, just outside the stadium with 11 people shot, a 12th person injured in the chaos that ensued, and of those who were shot, half of them were kids, one as young as 11. That is just heartbreaking.
00:10:34
Speaker 1: What was this person firing at? You can't tell? I mean, it was dark out there and crowded. I don't know, man. This doesn't make any freaking sense. You hear mass shootings. Right? I would have, I don't know about feeling any, I would have felt differently. A mass shooting. Somebody went out there to do harm, intending to shoot a crowd. You just accidentally shoot 11 people because you missed your target.
00:11:02
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're so mad at this person or persons you've just gotten into a fight with outside of the game. And again, you're 15. What does that put you in? 9th grade, 10th grade at the most? You just start firing at a crowd in the hopes that you might hit the person you're angry with. Well, guess what? 15-year-old Anthony Rivers III did not hit his intended targets, according to police. But no, he did critically injure at least one, but sent all of them to the hospital. Thankfully, five of them have been released as of this recording. But this is obviously a growing concern. It's been horrific in this country over the last decade at least. And I thought this was interesting. The Rockefeller Institute of Government just released a study. The average age of a mass shooter in this country, 34.4. So to think that a 15-year-old, yes, we've heard of school shooters being teenagers, but that actually is the rare exception. You're mostly looking at middle-aged white men. The National Institute of Justice also had a study of the 172 people who they studied who were public mass shooters, 97.7% were male. Don't think that would be a surprise. The ages range from 11 to 70, but yes, once again, they found that the average age was 34.2. And we've talked about this, more than half are white. That's the shooters. I was actually surprised, 52.3% white, 20.9% black, 8.1% Latino, 6.4% Asian, 4.2% Middle Eastern, and Less than 2% Native American.
00:12:38
Speaker 1: What was the one before.
00:12:40
Speaker 2: Middle Eastern was what? Middle Eastern was 4.2%. Yes. But obviously the vast majority are white men, middle-aged men. I think we're all used to seeing that. But when you start talking about just how bad, how much the death toll has risen in these mass shootings in the last decade, listen to this. In the 1970s, we still had mass shootings then, but they claimed an average of eight lives a year. Just from 2010 to 2019, the average was 51 deaths a year. That is such a sharp increase. It's beyond disturbing.
00:13:14
Speaker 1: The eight was from when? What year was that?
00:13:16
Speaker 2: In the 70s. So in the 70s, they pretty much had an average of eight lives a year. But in this last decade, before the 2020s, we were up to 51 deaths a year.
00:13:29
Speaker 1: In mass shootings?
00:13:30
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:13:31
Speaker 1: Is that our average number?
00:13:33
Speaker 2: Yes, that was the average in that stretch.
00:13:36
Speaker 1: Because we know there's some years where there's been 50 people killed in one.
00:13:39
Speaker 2: Mass shooting before. Yes, and that certainly added to the averages. But look, we have a disturbing trend that we have not figured out yet. And yes, it gets even more deeply disturbing to think that it's unfortunate when anybody commits an act of violence like this. But when you think it's coming at the hands of a 15-year-old, we really need to do some soul-searching.
00:14:02
Speaker 1: This is a child. This is a baby. This is a, no matter what, I don't know what race, upbringing, nothing else. We have got to, these are children. How are we failing them so badly that not just being in possession of a gun, but what, I don't know if I've ever met a 15-year-old anywhere in my life, going to school anywhere, that I thought would be capable of pulling out a gun and just firing into a crowd.
00:14:29
Speaker 2: Indiscriminately.
00:14:30
Speaker 1: I don't think I know one.
00:14:31
Speaker 2: Yeah, because random acts of violence and being willing to murder someone you don't even know, to murder families who are there celebrating a game with their children, that takes a whole other level of just indifference and intolerance. I don't even know what other word to put with that.
00:14:53
Speaker 1: You don't have anything going in your life and have no hopes for your future. You have nothing to protect but your reputation. This scares the hell out of me. When you have kids that there is nothing to work for. There's nothing to hope for.
00:15:12
Speaker 2: There's nothing to lose.
00:15:13
Speaker 1: At 15 years old, babe, your whole life is ahead of you. You're excited about this and that. You've got nothing else. Where did we fail this kid, man?
00:15:23
Speaker 2: It's incredibly sad. And look, I did see some outlets actually even defending. And look, the police put out his name, Anthony Rivers III. But There were even, there was one local paper who I thought it was interesting, felt the need to explain the reason why they were revealing the name of a minor. And they said when certain crimes are of a certain level of violence, we basically go beyond, we make an exception. Because normally they said we would not print the name of a minor being charged in a crime. But when certain crimes are violent enough, we actually basically suspend that.
00:16:03
Speaker 1: We see that all the time. School shooter after school shooter. They're teenagers. We often see that. And the police said the name out loud. They put it in their press releases. They put it in their social media. So it's out there and they put it out there. He's going to be charged as an adult.
00:16:18
Speaker 2: Absolutely. Absolutely. So that's where, but like I was just saying, it just stood out to me, even that they felt the need, like, well, we know he's young and but we're giving his name, but that just speaks to the heinousness of this crime that someone so young could be capable of doing something this horrific.
00:16:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, I see why they might. I mean, it's just... It was interesting. There's a... I don't know where it is. There's some cutoff point where we are... They are looking at a 15-year-old and going, Jesus, this is young. Should we print it? Because if it was 17, maybe we would have said the same thing.
00:16:53
Speaker 2: No, exactly. This is just right on the line where you think, My God. And then you wonder, obviously, like this one horrific, awful choice he made in that moment is now going to basically determine the rest of his life. All right. Well, we'll continue to follow any new developments on the story. We always appreciate you listening to us, everyone. I'm Amy Robach alongside TJ Holmes. We'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks. It is Monday, October 26th, and the shooting was shocking enough. 11 people shot outside of a homecoming game in Florida. Even more shocking now who police have just announced they've arrested in this shooting. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. And yes, our 11 shot and the other number now we're focused on is the age of this alleged shooter.
00:00:31
Speaker 2: Yes, 15 years old. Look, there had been a manhunt after the shooting that took place at 8 p.m. on Saturday night. This was in Tallahassee, just outside of the Florida A & M Stadium, just after a big homecoming game against Arkansas Pine Bluff.
00:00:51
Speaker 1: UAPB, my folks' alma mater down there. UAPB, yes. But again, look, at an HBCU, homecoming is a big deal. Homecoming is a really big deal. A lot of folks come back. There's always good energy. So this was even more so probably than their other regular season games. You got more folks out there. And the celebration, the parties, and the mood, and the festivities, I can only imagine what that crowd looked like. And somebody is just firing indiscriminately into it.
00:01:18
Speaker 2: Yes, and that appears to be what exactly happened. And this has been described as one of the worst mass shootings in Tallahassee, history. And so, yes, all eyes were on this investigation. Police had been asking, you imagine that crowd, how many people had their cell phones out, people who were recording and taking videos and surveillance cameras that may have been in the area. So they were scouring through all of this and finally announced just a short while ago that 15-year-old Anthony Rivers III has been arrested and he has been charged with 11 counts of attempted second-degree murder and And a possession of a firearm by a delinquent. And that is just the beginning because there is still at least one person fighting for their life in the hospital right now.
00:02:05
Speaker 1: Yeah, and Robes, what was it? At least half of the folks they said were discharged. But yeah, you still have a very, you have some, this isn't resolved, right? You could have, Robes, what we're sitting with, this kid could be charged with death, hopefully, excuse me, charged with murder. Absolutely. Hopefully, this person pulls through. But Robes, what are the 15-year-old doing with him? What a gun. What fight did you get into that you need to shoot this many times? And Robes didn't hit who he was shooting at, according to police.
00:02:36
Speaker 2: Yes. So according to police, this started out as a fight between or among known parties. So it wasn't some random act of violence. There was some argument that took place, they say, either between two or three people. And yes, of the 11 people who were hit with gun bullets... None of them were the intended targets.
00:02:59
Speaker 1: Far that many times and missed. Yes.
00:03:01
Speaker 2: So 11 people in the crowd suffered gunshot wounds. That's a lot of folks, man.
00:03:06
Speaker 1: Right?
00:03:07
Speaker 2: Six people remain hospitalized right now. One person is in critical condition among those six, and five were treated and released. But the youngest victim was 11 years old. And there was a 12th victim, by the way, and I think this is fair to say. Most people, yes, 11 were hit with bullets. Right. But another one was a grandmother of one of the victims who was injured while fleeing the scene. People describe this, and you can only imagine, as mass hysteria. People, you hear gunfire and you just start running. And so people were getting trampled. And this elderly woman actually had a pretty significant ankle injury because she was trampled trying to get away from the gunshots. And yeah, we know the youngest victim is 11 years old. Six adults and six kids were injured in the mayhem.
00:03:55
Speaker 1: And it's good to note that because it happens oftentimes in these mass shootings, these incidents, and just because she didn't get shot doesn't mean this woman isn't severely impacted for life by this injury. Rose, we see sometimes people die from heart attacks at being in a situation like this. It's not direct, didn't get shot. So, Rose, the scene, I'm trying, I don't know how many times this person fired. Was it only 11 times? I would assume it was more. than that, babe. How many bullets flew and none of them hit the target? You shot 11?
00:04:33
Speaker 2: Because you're 15 and you don't know what you're doing.
00:04:35
Speaker 1: Hey, they make a good point there, man.
00:04:36
Speaker 2: And you have no business with a firearm, obviously.
00:04:39
Speaker 1: Gross.
00:04:40
Speaker 2: And yeah, the only other information we got about who he did hit, one of them, and I think this is kind of amazing seeing how you are spilling out of a big game. Only one of them, at least they say, is a FAMU student. Mm-hmm. But at least one of them was a college student there who was celebrating. And they described the night as just a celebratory night, a family night. We know what homecoming games are like. We've just been at a couple. We were there in Arkansas. And we just were at Parents Weekend at University of Colorado Boulder.
00:05:12
Speaker 1: These are special weekends. They really are. And if you've never been to an HBCU homecoming, Lord have mercy. It's one of the best parties you'll ever go to. It doesn't matter who's there. You know what? Folks go, and Robes, a lot of times, the highlight isn't the game. It's the halftime battle of the bands. Robes, these are just awesome events. They just are. Now, the crowd and how many that stadium holds, I don't know, and how many we're spilling out, not sure, but just how do you fire that? Robes, you're just blah, blah, blah. Which direction? All around. 11 people? You don't realize after five people that you hit, that you didn't hit who you were trying to hit. Why are you still shooting? I got to hear this. And what, a 15-year-old?
00:06:11
Speaker 2: It was shocking. And again, this was just announced moments before we began this recording. So people are still trying to process how someone... this young was able to do as much damage as he did. And just like to think that it was some fight that, you know, you think Sabine's about to turn 14. Some of her friends, the idea that any of them would have guns on them is so deeply disturbing.
00:06:32
Speaker 1: What fight, what, what rises to the level when you're 14 and 15?
00:06:36
Speaker 2: A girl usually. Is it a girl? It's usually over some romantic or some Who knows? But it's obviously nothing that could be justified. And what the police chief had to say was this, and I think this is kind of summing up what you're describing in terms of the atmosphere and what people expect when you're going to a homecoming game here. What should have been a weekend of celebration in our community instead became a night of fear and violence for the victims and their families. While this arrest marks a significant step forward, our work is far from over. We remain committed to holding those responsible accountable and getting answers immediately. for every family impacted by this tragedy. And look, they said they have been working around the clock. Can you imagine trying to identify? And they aren't just saying the person responsible. They are saying those responsible because they say that this investigation is ongoing and active, and they do say that there could be more arrests because, yes, there was a fight.
00:07:33
Speaker 1: But that would make more sense if there was a second shooter, but they haven't said that.
00:07:38
Speaker 2: No, and they charged this young man, this 15-year-old with 11 counts of attempted second-degree murder.
00:07:45
Speaker 1: That's right, baby. They don't think there's another shooter.
00:07:47
Speaker 2: Yes, I don't think they do. But did someone else, would they in any way be held accountable if whatever they did or said- led up to did someone pull a gun on him and that's why he started shooting we don't know all of the details but they claimed that like look this was made especially hard because there were so many people who were wounded and injured anyone who was there um they were rushing to render aid to the victims it was less about finding the shooter and you know you have to make that choice as a police officer right you're on the scene and they did obviously have officers there anytime you've got a big football game in a community you've got a police presence there So they were on the scene, but they say instead of necessarily going after the shooter, they were rendering aid to people who were badly injured. And that makes sense.
00:08:35
Speaker 1: It does. Don't they consider these, is that a mass casualty event, as they call it?
00:08:40
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:08:40
Speaker 1: So you got to get people set up out there? I don't know. But I just, that scene. I haven't, as of yet, this morning, Robes, I haven't seen a lot of video out there from people posting anything. about what might've happened.
00:08:55
Speaker 2: I haven't either. And look, but police specifically said that they, um, they said they want to extend its appreciation to the community for the significant influx of information received since the shooting tips and digital evidence provided by members of the public were vital to our investigative efforts. So look, I think people, it's, it's interesting. Unfortunately, we get used, we, we learn how to act how to react and what to do immediately afterwards. And you can see people know police are going to need this video. They're going to need this evidence and they hand it over to police. And that in turn, it seems, led to the arrest that they were able to make late last night. But when we come back, we're going to talk about the mass shooters in this country. There is a new study out by the Rockefeller Institute of Government. You might be surprised by the average age of a mass shooter in this country. Welcome back, everyone. to Amy and TJ. Just announced in Tallahassee that a 15-year-old is responsible for the mass shooting that took place on Saturday night just outside of the Florida A & M Stadium. Homecoming game against Arkansas Pine Bluff ended, unfortunately, just outside the stadium with 11 people shot, a 12th person injured in the chaos that ensued, and of those who were shot, half of them were kids, one as young as 11. That is just heartbreaking.
00:10:34
Speaker 1: What was this person firing at? You can't tell? I mean, it was dark out there and crowded. I don't know, man. This doesn't make any freaking sense. You hear mass shootings. Right? I would have, I don't know about feeling any, I would have felt differently. A mass shooting. Somebody went out there to do harm, intending to shoot a crowd. You just accidentally shoot 11 people because you missed your target.
00:11:02
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're so mad at this person or persons you've just gotten into a fight with outside of the game. And again, you're 15. What does that put you in? 9th grade, 10th grade at the most? You just start firing at a crowd in the hopes that you might hit the person you're angry with. Well, guess what? 15-year-old Anthony Rivers III did not hit his intended targets, according to police. But no, he did critically injure at least one, but sent all of them to the hospital. Thankfully, five of them have been released as of this recording. But this is obviously a growing concern. It's been horrific in this country over the last decade at least. And I thought this was interesting. The Rockefeller Institute of Government just released a study. The average age of a mass shooter in this country, 34.4. So to think that a 15-year-old, yes, we've heard of school shooters being teenagers, but that actually is the rare exception. You're mostly looking at middle-aged white men. The National Institute of Justice also had a study of the 172 people who they studied who were public mass shooters, 97.7% were male. Don't think that would be a surprise. The ages range from 11 to 70, but yes, once again, they found that the average age was 34.2. And we've talked about this, more than half are white. That's the shooters. I was actually surprised, 52.3% white, 20.9% black, 8.1% Latino, 6.4% Asian, 4.2% Middle Eastern, and Less than 2% Native American.
00:12:38
Speaker 1: What was the one before.
00:12:40
Speaker 2: Middle Eastern was what? Middle Eastern was 4.2%. Yes. But obviously the vast majority are white men, middle-aged men. I think we're all used to seeing that. But when you start talking about just how bad, how much the death toll has risen in these mass shootings in the last decade, listen to this. In the 1970s, we still had mass shootings then, but they claimed an average of eight lives a year. Just from 2010 to 2019, the average was 51 deaths a year. That is such a sharp increase. It's beyond disturbing.
00:13:14
Speaker 1: The eight was from when? What year was that?
00:13:16
Speaker 2: In the 70s. So in the 70s, they pretty much had an average of eight lives a year. But in this last decade, before the 2020s, we were up to 51 deaths a year.
00:13:29
Speaker 1: In mass shootings?
00:13:30
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:13:31
Speaker 1: Is that our average number?
00:13:33
Speaker 2: Yes, that was the average in that stretch.
00:13:36
Speaker 1: Because we know there's some years where there's been 50 people killed in one.
00:13:39
Speaker 2: Mass shooting before. Yes, and that certainly added to the averages. But look, we have a disturbing trend that we have not figured out yet. And yes, it gets even more deeply disturbing to think that it's unfortunate when anybody commits an act of violence like this. But when you think it's coming at the hands of a 15-year-old, we really need to do some soul-searching.
00:14:02
Speaker 1: This is a child. This is a baby. This is a, no matter what, I don't know what race, upbringing, nothing else. We have got to, these are children. How are we failing them so badly that not just being in possession of a gun, but what, I don't know if I've ever met a 15-year-old anywhere in my life, going to school anywhere, that I thought would be capable of pulling out a gun and just firing into a crowd.
00:14:29
Speaker 2: Indiscriminately.
00:14:30
Speaker 1: I don't think I know one.
00:14:31
Speaker 2: Yeah, because random acts of violence and being willing to murder someone you don't even know, to murder families who are there celebrating a game with their children, that takes a whole other level of just indifference and intolerance. I don't even know what other word to put with that.
00:14:53
Speaker 1: You don't have anything going in your life and have no hopes for your future. You have nothing to protect but your reputation. This scares the hell out of me. When you have kids that there is nothing to work for. There's nothing to hope for.
00:15:12
Speaker 2: There's nothing to lose.
00:15:13
Speaker 1: At 15 years old, babe, your whole life is ahead of you. You're excited about this and that. You've got nothing else. Where did we fail this kid, man?
00:15:23
Speaker 2: It's incredibly sad. And look, I did see some outlets actually even defending. And look, the police put out his name, Anthony Rivers III. But There were even, there was one local paper who I thought it was interesting, felt the need to explain the reason why they were revealing the name of a minor. And they said when certain crimes are of a certain level of violence, we basically go beyond, we make an exception. Because normally they said we would not print the name of a minor being charged in a crime. But when certain crimes are violent enough, we actually basically suspend that.
00:16:03
Speaker 1: We see that all the time. School shooter after school shooter. They're teenagers. We often see that. And the police said the name out loud. They put it in their press releases. They put it in their social media. So it's out there and they put it out there. He's going to be charged as an adult.
00:16:18
Speaker 2: Absolutely. Absolutely. So that's where, but like I was just saying, it just stood out to me, even that they felt the need, like, well, we know he's young and but we're giving his name, but that just speaks to the heinousness of this crime that someone so young could be capable of doing something this horrific.
00:16:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, I see why they might. I mean, it's just... It was interesting. There's a... I don't know where it is. There's some cutoff point where we are... They are looking at a 15-year-old and going, Jesus, this is young. Should we print it? Because if it was 17, maybe we would have said the same thing.
00:16:53
Speaker 2: No, exactly. This is just right on the line where you think, My God. And then you wonder, obviously, like this one horrific, awful choice he made in that moment is now going to basically determine the rest of his life. All right. Well, we'll continue to follow any new developments on the story. We always appreciate you listening to us, everyone. I'm Amy Robach alongside TJ Holmes. We'll talk to you soon.