Paralyzed Shooting Victim Sues Florida State University for Negligence

(CN) - A victim of a November 2014 shooting at Florida State University sued the school on Tuesday claiming his grave injuries were the result of its negligent security.

Farhan Ahmed was gunman Myron May’s second target. May fired three shots at Ahmed, the first severed his spinal cord. He is now paralyzed from the waist down.

In a lawsuit against the Florida State University Board of Trustees in Leon County Circuit Court, Ahmed claims May walked past a security desk twice as he attempted to gain access to FSU’s main library.

According to the June 13 lawsuit, there was a security guard at the desk, but she was not paying attention because she had arrived late for her shift and was still setting up her station.

Ahmed goes on to claim that the previous security guard had left the library before his replacement showed up, so there was no one to monitor the situation as the female security guard set up her station.

As a result, May’s attempted entry was not reported to Florida State University Police.

Shortly after midnight on Nov. 20, 2014, May, who was not a student of the university, entered the campus and made his way to FSU’s main library which was full of students studying for finals. He attempted to enter through the turnstiles without swiping a student ID card, but the turnstiles failed to rotate.

As recounted in the complaint, when the turnstiles jammed, May “stepped backwards in apparent shock” and “stared suspiciously at security” before walking out the front doors.

May then spent the next 15 minutes outside the main sliding glass doors of the building before opening fire on students at about 12:23 a.m.

May’s first target was saved from injury when a bullet lodged into some books in his backpack. Ahmed was not as fortunate.

He was shot three times by May. The first bullet severed his spinal cord. Another of the bullets struck Ahmed's upper right arm and traveled through his torso, stopping only four centimeters from his heart. He is now paralyzed from the waist down and has limited use of his right arm.

May continued to shoot at several other students outside. Two were grazed by bullets before he went inside the library again. Once inside, he went behind the security desk and found two student library employees huddled underneath. May shot one of them in the leg. His gun jammed as he attempted to shoot the other. May then reloaded his gun before exiting the library again.

Once back outside on the steps of the library, May was confronted by FSU police officers who killed him after an exchange of fire.

When reached for comment about the lawsuit, Florida State University released the following statement through its General Counsel Carolyn Egan: “The university is disappointed that Ronny Ahmed wants to hold FSU responsible for the horrific acts of a deranged person. We will continue to work with and support Ronny, but unfortunately, we disagree with him on this matter. The university holds campus security in the highest regard and believes strongly that the swift response by law enforcement saved lives. We intend to vigorously defend the university.”

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