In the wake of a deadly shooting at Florida State University on Thursday that left two people dead and six injured, Chabad-Lubavitch of the Panhandle-Tallahassee—which serves university as well as the area Jewish community—has become a place of refuge and comfort for students seeking solace during the ongoing Passover holiday, which began on the eve of April 12 and continues through nightfall on April 20.
The shooting, which occurred in the same area of campus where Chabad regularly hosts its weekly “Lunch & Learn” Torah classes, has struck at the heart of the tight-knit community. The Chabad center, directed since 2000 by Rabbi Schneur Zalman and Chanie Oirechman, sits about a mile away.
“In the beginning we didn’t know anything other than rumors,” said Chanie Oirechman, describing the anxiety that swept through the northwest Florida community. “We even heard that there was an active shooter in our area off campus.”
A 20-year-old student opened fire at around 11:50 a.m. near the Student Union. Students reported hearing multiple gunshots, with witnesses describing seeing a man in an orange T-shirt and khaki shorts exit an orange Hummer with a rifle and begin shooting. Campus police responded immediately, eventually confronting and shooting the suspect. Two people were killed—neither of them students—and five others wounded.
Campus security immediately alerted students to stay put and in lockdown. Chanie Oirechman commended the campus faculty and security for being “on the ball, keeping students feeling safe and secure.” She said the team at Chabad immediately sprang into action, reaching out to students.
“We started by checking in with the students we know to make sure everyone was safe and accounted for,” she said. “As the situation escalated, students started reaching out to us and we were flooded with worried messages from other Chabad centers across the world who have community members studying at FSU”
The Chabad center has since become an impromptu crisis response hub and when the lockdown was lifted around 2:30 p.m., the Chabad house, which was already serving its regular Passover lunch, kept its kitchen open to accommodate students arriving from campus.
Less than a week earlier, Chabad of the Panhandle hosted 250 students and community members for the first Seder and 150 for the second Seder.
As students continue to process the day’s traumatic events, the Oirechmans say they are encouraging students to “increase in Torah and mitzvahs,” noting that illuminating the world with goodness and kindness is the only way to cope with such a dark event.
“More and more students are coming into Chabad now,” Chanie Oirechman told Chabad.org on Thursday evening, explaining why she had to end the call short. “We’ll be talking, starting the healing process, and hopefully dispensing some inspiration and encouragement.”
The Oirechmans plan to continue providing support as needed in the coming days, including their regular class on Tanya—the foundational work of Chabad Chassidus—scheduled for Thursday evening, as well as prayer services and events for the last two days of Passover, which begins on Friday evening and ends with Sunday evening’s “Moshiach Meal.”
“Everyone responds to such an event differently,” Oirechman observed. “Some are shocked, some are numb and some are just looking for a hug, a home cooked meal and a listening ear. But everyone needs a bit of unity and togetherness”
![The shooting took place right outside the building where Chabad hosts its weekly "Lunch and Learn." Pictured above, a class in mid-March before Passover. - Chabad-Lubavitch of the Panhandle-Tallahassee](https://w2.chabad.org/media/images/1318/fpAk13180281.jpg?_i=_n504BC99DD0473598AAE3BCDC5D75568D "The shooting took place right outside the building where Chabad hosts its weekly "Lunch and Learn." Pictured above, a class in mid-March before Passover. - Chabad-Lubavitch of the Panhandle-Tallahassee")
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